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Woe 

JOHN  SKALLY  TERRY 

MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 


ESTABLISHED  BY 

THE  FAMILY  IN  HONOR  OF 

JOHN  S.  TERRY 

CLASS  OF  1918 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA  LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N,C,  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00022093468 


O-c^JK^i.  n 


JUL  1  9 1973 
JUL  19 


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The  Khaki  Boys 
Fighting  to  Win 

OR 

Smashing  the  German  Lines 


By 
Capt.  GORDON  BATES 

Author  of  "The  Khaki  Boys  at  Camp  Sterling,"  "The 

Khaki  Boys  on  the  Way,"  "The  Khaki  Boys 

at  the  Front,"   "The   Khaki  Boys 

Over  the  Top,"  etc. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY 


THE  KHAKI  BOYS  SERIES 

By  CAPT.   GOI.DON  BATES 

i2rao.     Cloth.     Frontispiece 
Price  per  Volume,  60  Cents 

THE  KHAKI   BOYS  AT  CA^IF   STERLING 
or  Training  for  the  Big  Fight  in  France 

THE  KHAKI  BOYS  ON  THE  WAY 
or  Doing  Their  Bit  on  Land  and  Sea 

THE  KHAKI  BOYS  AT  THE  FRONT 
or  Shoulder  to  Shoulder  in  the  Trenches 

THE  KHAKI  BOYS  OVER  THE  TOP 
or  Doing  and  Daring  for  Uncle  Sam 

THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 
or  Smashing  the  German  Lines 

CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY,  New  York 

Copyright,  1919,  by 
CuppLES  &  Leon  Company 


The  Khaki  Boys  Fighting  to  Wih 


AFTER 

CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I 

Buried  Alive 

1 

n 

A  Strange  Sight     .      .      .     , 

9 

III 

Another  Puzzle       .      .      .      . 

18 

IV 

Eecognition         

26 

V 

Battling  Onward    .      . 

37 

VI 

Poor  Schnitz 

44 

VII 

Days  of  Sorrow 

53 

VIII 

Startling  Information 

.       60 

IX 

Ugly  Threats 

68 

X 

Disquieting  Rumors 

.       77 

XI 

The  Signals 

.      85 

XII 

News  From  the  Air 

.       92 

XIII 

A  Forward  Rush     . 

.     101 

XIV 

Unseen  Marksmen  .      ... 

.     108 

XV 

Over  the  Cliff  .... 

.     116 

XVI 

Only  Two  Left     .... 

125 

S'r.?:7"/i 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

PAGE 

xvn 

Blown  Up      ......     132 

XVIII 

A  Strange  Meeting  . 

140 

XIX 

In  Swirling  Waters     . 

148 

XX 

The  Cave  Fight 

155 

XXI 

A  Desperate  Resolve 

166 

XXII 

The  Escape   . 

172 

xxni 

The  Secret  Pact     . 

.     182 

xxiy 

Through  the  Lines 

.     194 

THE    KHAKI    BOYS 
FIGHTING  TO   WIN 


CHAPTER  I 

BURIED  ALIVE 

DISTANT  rumbles,  like  those  of  same  far- 
off  thunderstorm,  penetrated  even  to  the 
dugont,  which  was  constructed  under  a 
greater  depth  of  earth  than  usual.  At  times 
some  fearful,  though  far-removed,  explosion 
would  cause  the  solid  ground  to  tremble,  while 
articles  on  the  rude  shelves  of  the  shelter  would 
fall  down  with  resultant  crashes. 

''Some  bombardment — that!"  exclaimed  one 
of  a  number  of  khaki-clad  soldiers  who  were 
busying  themselves  in  varying  fashion  in  their 
bomb-proof  quarters. 

''I  should  say  so!"  agreed  another.  "If  our 
boys  keep  this  up  long  there  won't  be  enough 
Germans  left  for  us  to  have  a  scrimmage  with  I " 

''Don't  you  fool  yourself,  Bob!"  exclaimed 
Sergeant  Jimmy  Blaise.     '*  There  are   more 


2      THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Grermans  left  alive  than  we  have  any  idea  of. 
There'll  be  plenty  left  for  yon  to  tackle." 

"Now  your  mind's  relieved  on  that  score, 
would  you  mind  passing  that  oil  can,  Bob!"  re- 
quested Roger  Barlow.  ' '  There 's  a  spot  of  rust 
on  my  gun,  and  if  we  're  going  to  have  another 
big  fight  soon  I  don't  want  the  lock  to  jam  at 
a  critical  time." 

"Another  big  fight,  eh!"  mused  Robert  Dal- 
ton,  as  he  complied  with  his  bunkie's  request. 
"That's  about  all  we've  been  doing  lately." 

* '  That 's  what  we  're  here  for, ' '  suggested  Ser- 
geant Jimmy.  "And  the  more  big  fights  we 
have  the  sooner  it  will  be  over." 

"You  said  something!"  chimed  in  Franz 
Schnitzel,  who,  in  spite  of  his  Teutonic  name, 
was  one  of  the  best  of  Uncle  Sam's  doughboys. 
"It's  the  only  way  to  make  the  stupid  Germans, 
not  to  call  them  anything  worse,  realize  that 
we're  not  here  to  play  tag  with  them.  The 
heavier  the  fighting,  the  quicker  they'll  be 
ready  to  give  up.  But  what 's  the  use  of  talking 
about  more  fighting?  Here  we  are,  relieved  of 
duty  for  to-day,  at  least,  and  let's  enjoy  it 
while  we  can.  We'll  be  back  in  the  trenches 
soon  enough." 

"That's  so!"  agreed  Jimmy.  "Hello  over 
there,  Iggy !"  he  called  to  a  lad  sitting  at  a  table 
on  which  glowed  an  electric  light.  "Are  you 
writing  in  Polish  or  English!"  he  asked,  for 
the  lad  he  addressed  as  ' '  Iggy, ' '  but  whose  name 


BURIED   ALIVE 


was  Ignace  Pulinski,  was  laboring  with  pen, 
ink  and  paper. 

**It  is  English  I  am  writ  him,  an  to  my 
mothar,"  was  the  answer.  ''No  more  Polish  do 
I  him  write.  I  am  a  'Merican  now  and  for 
always." 

*' That's  the  way  to  talk,  Iggy!"  cried  Bob. 
**Do  you  want  any  help  with  that  letter?  It 
seems  to  be  more  important  than  nsnaL" 

"Sure  him  is  reportmeiit,"  agreed  Iggy, 
looking  up  and  drawing  in  his  tongue,  which, 
while  writing,  had  been  stuck  out  of  his  mouth, 
following  every  laborious  movement  of  his  pen. 
**I  am  to  my  mothar  sending  my  share  of  the 
money  that  Sergeant  Jimmy  broke  up  on  us." 

"Oh,  you  mean  the  five  thousand  francs  he 
whacked  up  with  us,  Iggy,"  laughed  Franz. 
"That's  the  word,  'whacked,'  not  broke,  though 
no  matter  how  much  money  someone  whacks  up 
with  you,  you'll  be  broke  as  soon  as  you  haven't 
any. ' ' 

"English  him  is  a  queer  talk,"  sighed  Iggy. 
"But  I  am  writ  to  m^^  mothar  that  I  send  her 
the  two  hundred  dollars  Sergeant  Jimmy  gave 
me.  By  jolly,  that's  a  heap  of  money!"  and 
his  eyes  glistened.  "My  foathar — ^he  work 
many  a  days  and  he  never  get  so  much.  But  I 
no  send  this  to  my  faothar — ^he  is  of  no  good. 
To  my  mothar  this  money  goes,  and  she  will 
kick  for  joy." 

"You  mean  she'll  dance  for  joy!"  laug-hed 


4      THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Jiininy.  "That's  all  right,  Iggy.  No  offense 
meant, ' '  he  went  on  as  he  saw  his  Polish  friend 
look  at  hiiii  rather  sharply.  "You  want  to  learn 
English,  yon  know,  even  if  it  is  a  queer  lan- 
guage, and  you  told  us  to  correct  you  when  you 
made  mistakes." 

"Sure.  So  I  did.  I  am  of  a  thanks  to  you. 
But  my  mothar,  she  will  of  joy  have  a  lot  when 
she  gets  this  money.  It — it  is  more  as  she  haf 
ever  seen  of  a  once,'^  and  there  was  something 
in  Iggy's  tone  that  put  a  stop  to  further  joking 
on  this  line. 

The  Polish  lad  went  on  with  his  letter- writing. 
As  he  had  said,  he  was  enclosing  a  money  order 
for  two  hundred  dollars.  This  was  his  share 
of  a  reward  of  five  thousand  francs  which  Ser- 
geant Jimmy  Blaise  won  for  putting  out  of  the 
way  a  certain  "Charles  Black,"  who,  it  turned 
out,  was  an  Austrian  spy  named  Adolph  von 
Kreitzen.  Jimmy,  who  in  private  life  was 
wealthy,  had  insisted  on  sharing  his  reward  with 
the  other  of  the  "Five  Brothers,"  as  the 
Kliaki  Boys  were  often  called. 

"Need  any  help,  Iggy?"  asked  Bob,  as  he 
saw  the  Polish  lad  shake  his  head  as  if  in  de- 
spair over  some  knotty  point  in  the  letter. 

"Well,  I  maybe  do,"  was  the  answer.  "I 
should  tell  my  mothar  about  how  I  was  out  on 
night-work,  and  I  of  help  capture  that  Russian 
spy  of  the  name  Alexandraioviteh  Tarbotcha- 
nitzitschi.    That  is  a  hard  name  to  spell. ' ' 


BURIED   ALIVE 5 

"Spell!  You  can't  spell  that  namel*'  and 
Jimmy  Blaise  exploded  in  a  laugh.  **You  can 
get  your  tongue  around  it  a  whole  lot  better 
than  any  of  us,  but  it  can't  be  spelled.  Just  put 
in  a  wheeze,  a  couple  of  sneezes  and  a  hiccough. 
Then  you'll  have  the  name,  Iggy." 

*'Well,  I  guess  maybe  you  got  it  right," 
assented  the  Polish  lad.  **I  just  tell  my  mothar 
I  of  capture  a  Eussian  spy  what  the  Germans 
have — what  you  call  made  bad.  I  tell  her  the 
name  when  I  get  home." 

''That's  the  idea!"  agreed  Bob.  ''Home!" 
he  exclaimed.  *'Say,  fellows,  where  have  I 
heard  that  word  before?" 

** That's  what  I  was  wondering,"  chimed  in 
Roger  Barlow.  "It  sort  of  rhymes  with  bath- 
tub, pie,  broiled  steaks " 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  dog-eared  magazine 
which  Jimmy  tossed  at  him,  narrowly  missing 
hitting  the  electric  lamp  by  which  Iggy  was 
writing  his  letter. 

"Here!  Cheese  it!  Do  you  want  to  douse 
the  glim?"  expostulated  Schnitzel.  "We  won 
this  dugout  from  the  Germans  after  too  much 
hard  work  to  let  you  put  it  on  the  blink  now. 
It's  the  best  place  Ave've  had  to  rest  in  for  some 
time.    Don't  go  putting  it  on  the  kazook!" 

"I  apologize,"  said  Sergeant  Jimmy,  humbly 
enough.  "It's  great  to  have  electric  light,  isn't 
it?  Those  Huns  certainly  went  to  a  lot  of  work 
to  make  this  place  YikQ  home  for  their  officers. 


6      THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


Electric  lights,  decent  berths,  and  places  where 
yon  can  take  it  easy  and  write  letters." 

^'They  never  thonght  we'd  get  this  far,  I 
guess,"  remarked  Bob. 

And  what  he  said  was  true.  There  had  been 
a  sndden  and  substantial  advance  on  the  part  of 
the  American  army,  and  they  had  overwhelmed 
the  German  lines  at  this  sector,  running  the 
Boches  several  miles  back.  Thns  long  lines  of 
well-made  German  trenches,  including  a  number 
of  dugouts  fitted  up  rather  more  elaborately 
than  usual,  were  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Allies 
in  general  and  the  Americans  in  particular. 

The  one  in  which  the  five  Brothers  were  tak- 
ing their  rest  after  some  severe  fighting  had 
been  arranged  with  electric  lights,  and  after  the 
battle  the  wires  were  repaired,  the  dynamo 
hitched  on  again,  and  the  place  rendered  habit- 
able. It  was  an  exceptionally  deep  dugout,  and 
was  safe  from  all  but  the  very  heaviest  bom- 
bardments of  the  German  guns.  And  there  had 
been  bomardments  from  time  to  time  ever  since 
the  Americans  had  swept  irresistibly  and  vic- 
toriously over  the  Boche  lines. 

''Well,  this  can't  last  forever,"  remarked 
Bob,  as  he  nibbled  at  a  bit  of  chocolate. 

''What  we  want  to  do,"  declared  Franz,  as  Ke 
slyly  took  a  bit  of  Bob's  confection,  "is  to  wal- 
lop the  Huns  good  and  hard,  and  then  put  'era 
where  they  can't  do  any  more  harm.  Then  it's 
us  for  the  good  old  U.  S.  A." 


BURIED  ALIVE 


'*Yes,  and  it'll  be  you  for  the  outside  if  you 
snibby  any  more  of  my  lollypop!"  exclaimed 
Bob,  with  a  grin  as  he  moved  away  from 
Schnitzel.  "I  got  this  off  a  Salvation  Army 
lassie  this  morning,  and  she  said  I  wasn't  to 
give  any  of  it  away. ' ' 

"Pity  you  didn't  get  some  for  all  of  us,"  com- 
mented Roger.    ' '  Did  they  open  a  fresh  box "? ' ' 

''Yes,  just  got  a  new  lot  in,"  said  Bob.  "I 
was  going  to  tell  you  about  it  and  advise  you 
to  go  out  and  get  your  share  when  we  got  to 
talking  about  Iggy's  letter." 

*'Him  is  all  done  now — my  letter,"  declared 
the  Polish  lad.    *' I  can  for  the  chocolate  go ! " 

'^We'll  all  have  a  go  at  the  chocolate!"  put 
in  Jinuuy.  "Come  on,  fellows.  We've  been  in 
here  long  enough.  Let's  get  a  bit  of  fresh  air 
without  running  danger  of  poison  gas.  No  tell- 
ing how  soon  we'll  be  sent  to  the  front  again. 
Me  for  a  large,  juicy  slice  of  chocolate!" 

"AVe're  ^\it\\.  you!"  cried  his  four  chums. 

"Well,  I  A\^sh  I  could  of  see  my  mothar  when 
she  open  this  letter  and  of  the  two  hundred  dol- 
lars take  out, ' '  said  Iggy,  as  he  gave  the  epistle 
to  a  messenger  to  see  that  it  was  mailed,  to- 
gether mth  cards  and  letters  previously  pre- 
pared by  the  other  Khaki  Boys.  "She  will  hop 
— no,  that  is  not  the  word — she  will  dance  for 
of  joy." 

"Well,  let  us  dance  out  and  get  the  choco- 
late while  the  going's  good!"  cried  Jimmy. 


8      THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


Aa  he  spoke  a  deeper  boom  from  some  distant, 
great  gnn  came  to  their  ears,  and  the  ground 
trembled. 

'^Sounds  as  though  they  were  coming 
nearer,"  commented  Bob. 

''Or  else  they're  using  longer  range  cannon," 
added  Eoger. 

"Well,"  said  Jimmy,  ''as  long  as  we " 

He  never  finished  the  sentence.  In  the  midst 
of  it  the  words  were  drowned,  swallowed  up, 
obliterated  in  one  great  crash.  It  seemed  to  be 
exactly  on  top  of  the  dugout  of  which  the  five 
Khaki  Boys  were  now  the  only  occupants. 

And  coincident  with  the  crash  there  came 
complete  darkness,  while  the  deafening  noise 
was  followed  by  smaller  concussions. 

"It's  a  cave-in!  The  walls  are  collapsing!" 
cried  Bob. 

"I'm  covered  with  dirt!"  came  Roger's  voice 
faintly  from  the  darkness.  "Fellows,  we're 
buried  alive!    Buried  alive!" 

And  the  echoes  seemed  to  send  back,  mock- 
ingly: 

' '  Buried  alive !    Alive ! ' ' 


CHAPTER  II 

A  STRANGE  SIGHT 

FOR  a  moment  after  the  dramatic  an- 
nouncement of  Roger  Barlow  to  the  ef- 
fect that  he  and  his  chums  were  in  such 
dire  straits,  there  was  intense  silence.  Silence 
and  darkness  reigned  in  the  dugout  that,  a  mo- 
ment before,  had  been  light  and  the  scene  of  as 
much  gaiety  as  can  perhaps  ever  be  attained  so 
near  the  war  front.  And  the  hearts  of  the  five 
Brothers  turned  sick  with  fear. 

Then  Jimmy,  perhaps  because  he  was  more 
used  to  commanding  than  his  companions, 
though  they  were  all  non-commissioned  officers, 
took  charge  of  the  situation. 

**I  say!"  he  called  aloud,  after  making  sure 
that  the  worst  that  had  happened  to  him  was 
numerous  cuts  and  bruises.  ^'1  say,  are  any  of 
you  badly  hurt?" 

**I  seem  to  be  all  there,"  answered  Roger. 
9 


10    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

''But  I'm  caiiglit  under  a  beam  or  something." 

'* Don't  try  to  mggle  out  yet!"  warned 
Jimmy.  "You  may  bring  the  whole  place  dovni 
about  our  ears!  Wait  until  I  see  if  I  can  get 
my  hand  in  my  pocket  and  bring  out  my  flash- 
lamp.    I  hope  it  isn  't  broken. ' ' 

'*I  can  get  at  mine!"  came  from  Franz. 

**Are  you  all  right?"  asked  Jimmy. 

**Yes,  except  for  a  crack  on  the  head  that 
made  me  see  stars  for  a  minute. ' ' 

"Stars ! "  cried  Bob.  "We'd  be  well  off  if  we 
could  see  comets  now.  It's  as  dark  as  a  bucket 
of  tar  in  here.  What  happened,  anyhow?  I 
believe  we  must  be  under  tons  of  earth  and 
rocks." 

"I  guess  we  are,"  said  Jimmy,  and  his  voice 
had  a  solemn  note  in  it.  "We  must  be  buried 
alive,  as  you  said.  The  Huns  must  have 
dropped  a  bomb  from  an  aeroplane  straight  on 
the  location  of  this  dugout,  which,  of  course, 
they  knew.  Or  else  they've  got  the  range  with 
one  of  their  big  guns.  But  wait,  I  can  flash 
my  glim  now.  We'll  soon  see  what  the  trouble 
is." 

"Has  anyone  heard  a  peep  out  of  Iggy?" 
asked  Roger.  "Of  course  we  can't  see  one  an- 
other, but  we  can  hear.  I  say,  Iggy,  are  you  all 
right?"  he  called,  and  by  his  voice  it  would  seem 
that  Roger  was  not  much  hurt. 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment,  and  then  the 
tones  of  the  Polish  lad  were  heard.    Iggy  said : 


A    STRANGE    SIGHT 


''I  dunno  if  I  am  here,  or  by  a  deadness 
alretty.  Only  I  haf  a  imicli  pains  in  my  foot. 
Maybe  he  is  cracked ! ' ' 

"Let  us  hope  not!"  said  Jimmy,  as  he 
switched  on  his  pocket  flashlight,  "Oh,  I  see 
him!"  he  cried.  "Yon  are  under  a  heap  of  dirt 
and  sandbags,  Iggy.    We  '11  soon  have  you  out, ' ' 

As  Jimmy  flashed  the  light,  Bob  and  Franz 
began  digging  Avith  their  hands.  They  very 
quickly  freed  Roger.  It  was  soon  evident  that 
Iggy,  also,  could  be  freed;  but  when  this  was 
accomplished  his  head  sank  back  limply  and  his 
eyes  closed. 

"He  must  be  worse  hurt  than  we  think,"  said 
Franz  solemnly.  "Is  there  any  way  out  of  this 
hole!" 

"There  is  one  if  it  hasn't  been  closed  by  the 
explosion,"  answered  Jimmy.  "Wait  until  I 
get  my  bearings.  This  is  the  main  German 
dugout  for  this  section  of  trench — that  is,  it 
was, ' '  he  added  significantly.  ' '  Now  from  here, 
as  I  recall  it,  there  ran  a  tunnel  into  another 
bomb-proof.  If  we  can  dig  our  way  to  that  we 
may  be  saved  yet.  And  we've  got  to  dig  our 
way  out,  fellows.  We  may  be  buried  alive,  but 
it's  up  to  us  to  dig  our  way  out.  But  first  we'd 
better  get  Iggy  some  water,  if  we  can  find  any. 
I'm  afraid  he's  in  a  bad  way." 

And  while  the  five  Brothers  are  tr5dng  to 
solve  one  of  the  many  hard  problems  that  came 
to  them  during  their  war  career,  I  will  take  a 


12    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

moment  to  inform  my  new  readers  something  of 
the  lads  themselves. 

They  were  called  the  "Khaki  Boys,"  and  they 
were  first  introduced  in  the  volume  named  "The 
Khaki  Boys  at  Camp  Sterling."  Jimmy  Blaise, 
otlierwise  known  as  James  Sumner  Blaise,  the 
son  of  wealthy  parents,  Roger  Barlow,  an 
orphan  who  had  tried  various  ways  of  making  a 
living,  Robert  Dalton,  who  after  the  death  of  his 
parents  had  become  a  "cub"  newspaper  re- 
porter, Franz  Schnitzel,  and  Ignace  Pulinski, 
had  established  a  Brotherhood  during  their 
preliminary  camp  training. 

They  had  many  thrilling  times  together  dur- 
ing the  early  days  of  the  participation  of  the 
United  States  in  the  big  conflict,  and  they 
formed  friendships  that  meant  much.  They 
started  for  France  together,  and  in  the  second 
volume,  "The  Khaki  Boys  on  the  Way,"  their 
experiences  on  the  water  have  been  detailed. 
Being  torpedoed  was  only  one  of  many  thrilling 
things  that  happened  to  them.  Eventually  the 
five  Khaki  Boys  reached  the  actual  fighting 
ground,  and  in  "The  Khaki  Boys  at  the  Front," 
^\n\\  be  found  set  down  their  experiences  as  real 
fighters.  In  that  book  may  be  learned  how 
Jinomy  earned  the  reward  of  five  thousand 
francs  by  disposing  of  the  "tiger  man."  And 
it  was  this  reward,  or  rather,  his  share  of  it, 
that  Iggy  sent  to  his  "mothar,"  as  he  called 
her. 


A    STRANGE   SIGHT l£ 

In  the  fourth  volume,  entitled,  "The  Khaki 
Boys  Over  the  Top,"  are  related  the  details  of 
some  rather  curious  happenings.  Jimmy  had 
entrusted  his  five  thousand  francs  to  the  care 
of  a  friend,  Sergeant  Maxwell,  and,  after  a  cer- 
tain skirmish,  when  the  five  Brotliers  went  over 
the  top,  the  sergeant  was  reported  missing.  The 
five  thousand  francs  also  disappeared. 

"What  effect  this  had  on  the  Khaki  Boys,  and 
how,  later,  they  were  saved  from  almost  sure 
death  by  a  strange  officer,  and  how  they  de- 
nounced this  officer  as  a  spy — all  this  will  he 
f oimd  in  the  fourth  book.  At  the  close,  the  boys, 
after  many  hardships,  were  united  again,  and 
they  were  waiting  for  the  resumption  of  the 
heavy  fighting  where  we  find  them  at  the  open- 
ing of  this  present  tale. 

Among  their  friends  the  five  Khaki  Boys 
numbered  the  "Twinkle  Twins,"  otherwise 
John  and  Gerald  Twinkleton,  two  aviators, 
whose  cousin,  Emile  Voissard,  was  known  as 
the  '  *  Flying  Terror  of  France. ' '  He  was  more 
than  an  ace,  and  it  was  in  helping  him  that 
Jimmy  won  the  reward.  There  was,  too, 
Jimmy  ^s  friend  Margaret,  of  Buffalo,  but  he 
had  small  hope  of  seeing  his  "girl"  in  those 
strenuous  war  days. 

Of  course  boys  like  the  five  Brothers  could 
not  progress  as  they  had  and  not  make  enemies. 
The  very  fart  that  Jimmy,  Roger  and  Franz 
were  sergeants,  while  Bob  and  Ignace  were  cor- 


14    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

porals  was  enough  to  cause  some  jealons  feel- 
ings among  the  squads  they  often  eonunanded. 
And  even  in  camp  this  had  been  shown,  before 
they  were  promoted.  There  was  one  yonng 
soldier,  Private  Bixton,  who  acted  very  despic- 
aWy  toward  the  five  friends  until  he  was  sent 
to  a  military  prison,  mainly  throi:  ,h  the  instru- 
mentality of  Jimmy  and  his  chums.  For  Bixton 
was  a  scoundrel,  as  well  as  a  deserter. 

So,  it  can  be  seen,  the  five  friends  did  not 
have  it  altogether  easy.  They  fought  hard,  and 
they  were  wounded  more  than  once,  but  not 
seriously  enough  to  keep  them  long  away  from 
the  firing  line. 

And  now,  after  having  fought  hard  and  been 
given  a  short  leave  of  absence,  part  of  which 
they  had  spent  in  the  old  German  dugout,  the 
Khaki  Boys  are  again  in  trouble,  caused  by  the 
collapse  of  the  underground  place  when  the  big 
shell  or  the  bomb  exploded. 

Putting  aside,  for  the  moment,  all  thought  of 
trying  to  dig  their  way  out  of  their  underground 
prison,  the  Khaki  Boys  proceeded  to  do  what 
they  could  for  the  unfortunate  Iggy.  Their 
flashlights  gave  considerable  illumination  to  the 
otherwise  dark  hole,  and  by  looking  around 
Jimmy  and  the  others  saw  what  had  happened. 

The  shell,  bomb,  or  whatever  it  was,  must 
have  landed  squarely  on  top  of  the  dugout.  And 
though  this  top  proper,  being  made  of  concrete, 
was  some  distance  underground,  it  had  been 


A    STRANGE    SIGHT   16 

made  to  collapse  as  one  might  pnsli  in  the  end 
of  an  egg.  The  roof  of  the  dngout  was  de- 
pressed while  the  walls  still  stood  npright, 
though  much  cracked.  The  place  was  filled  with 
debris. 

It  was  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  strong,  thick 
walls  held  that  the  boys'  lives  were  not  at  once 
crashed  out.  They  had  been  along  the  edges, 
and  not  standing  in  the  middle,  when  the  crash 
came. 

**Lift  him  over  to  one  side,  and  we'll  see  if 
we  can  tell  what's  the  matter  with  him,*'  sug- 
gested Koger. 

Accordingly  they  scraped  as  much  dirt  and 
debris  off  the  Polish  lad  as  possible,  and  then 
half  lifted  and  half  dragged  him  over  to  a  pile 
of  blankets. 

'*Feel  any  better?'*  asked  Jimmy,  as  he  gave 
his  friend  another  drink  from  a  canteen, 

"Yes,  of  a  little  betterness  am  I,"  was  the 
answer.  *'But  do  not  of  mind  me.  I  can  get 
albngs.  Look  for  a  way  out  of  these  place  if  you 
can  find  him.    Do  not  mind  me." 

*'Well,  maybe  I'd  better  be  looking  to  see  if 
I  can  find  the  old  tunnel,"  said  Jimmy.  ''We'll 
need  to  find  that,  anyhow,  to  get  ourselves  out, 
as  v/ell  as  Iggy.  Roger,  you  come  with  me. 
Bob  and  Franz  can  stay  with  Iggy.  We'll  be 
back  as  soon  as  we  can,"  he  added. 

The  two  boys  climbed  over  the  debris,  flash- 
ing their  pocket  torches  at  intervals,  so  as  not 


16    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

to  use  up  the  batteries  too  quickly.  Bob  and 
Franz  made  Iggy  as  comfortable  as  possible. 

"Seems  to  me  the  place  was  over  here/*  ob- 
served Jimmy,  as  he  pulled  aside  some  loose  and 
splintered  boards. 

<^uickly  Jimmy  flashed  the  gleams  of  his  small 
lamp  over  the  cracked  and  broken  walls  of  the 
dugout.  At  first  he  had  no  success,  but  finally 
he  found  what  he  was  looking  for. 

"Here  it  is!"  he  cried.  "An  old  door!  It's 
been  closed  for  some  time,  but  here  it  is." 

*  *  Can  it  be  opened  1 ' '  asked  Roger. 

"That  remains  to  be  seen,"  replied  Jimmy,  as 
he  limped  nearer  to  it,  for  he  had  been  struck  on 
the  leg  by  a  piece  of  timber  and  he  was  painfully 
lame. 

An  examination  showed  that  the  door,  though 
broken  and  jammed,  was  capable  of  being 
forced  open.  This  was  done  by  Roger  and 
Jimmy,  using  pieces  of  planks  for  levers.  At 
last  the  broken  door  swung  to  one  side  on  its 
burst  hinges,  and  beyond  it  a  dark  tunnel  was 
seen. 

* '  Here 's  the  place ! ' '  cried  Jimmy.  *  *  Now  if 
we  can  go  along  this  until  we  reach  the  other 
bomb-proof  we  shall  get  out  all  right." 

"Yes — if  we  can,"  said  Roger  significantly. 
*  *  Well,  we  Ve  got  to  try,  that 's  sure.  Can 't  stay 
here  very  long.  It  may  come  down  about  our 
ears." 

"I  don't  know  about  Iggy,  though,"  went  on 


A    STRANGE    SIGHT 17 

Jimmy.  ''Of  course  we  could  carry  him,  but 
it  would  be  hard  work. ' ' 

However,  they  were  not  compelled  to  do  this. 
For  when  Koger  and  Jimmy  went  back  to  where 
they  had  left  Bob  and  Franz  looking  after  the 
wounded  Polish  lad,  they  found  that  Iggy  could 
walk  by  leaning  on  the  shoulder  of  someone, 

''That's  good!'^  exclaimed  Jimmy.  "Now 
then  for  the  tunnel!  But  take  it  easy,  every- 
body. We  may  be  going  into  a  blind  lead,  or  a 
place  worse  than  this.    So  go  slow!" 

And  slowly  and  cautiously  they  entered  the 
tunnel,  Roger  and  Jimmy  in  the  lead.  One  of 
them  flashed  a  pocket  torch  at  intervals,  for 
the  way  was  rough  and  treacherous. 

Suddenly  Roger,  who  had  got  a  little  in  ad- 
vance of  Jimmy,  caught  the  latter  by  the  arm, 
and,  pointing  ahead,  in  a  whisper,  asked : 

"What's  that?    Who  are  they!" 

Jimmy,  looking  to  where  his  friend  pointed, 
uttered  a  guarded  exclamation.  He  was  gazing 
at  a  strange  sight. 


w 


CHAPTER  in 

ANOTHEK   PUZZLE 

"'^X  7 HAT'S  the  matter  up  ahead  there!'* 
came  the  demand  from  Schnitzel, 
who,  with  Bob,  was  helping  along  the 
disabled  Iggy.  **Why  don't  you  go  on, 
Jimmy?" 

'*Is  the  way  blocked?"  asked  Bob.  "Are  we 
stuck  again  1 ' ' 

"Keep  still  back  there!"  fiercely  whispered 
Sergeant  Jimmy.  ''Don't  make  such  a  row,  or 
they'll  hear  you!" 

"Who?"  asked  Franz,  and  this  time  he  low- 
ered his  voice  to  the  desired  pitch.  "Are  there 
some  Germans  up  ahead?  Did  the  blowing  up 
of  our  dugout  mean  that  our  lines  are 
smashed?"  His  voice  was  anxious.  He  and 
Bob  could  not  see  beyond  the  place  where  Roger 
and  Jimmy  had  come  to  a  halt. 

i8 


ANOTHER  PUZZLE  19 

*'Just  wait  a  minute,"  advised  Jimmy,  still 
keeping  to  a  whisper.  *'Rodge  and  I  just  saw 
something  that  may  be  all  right,  and  ma,y  he  all 
wrong.  We're  going  to  see  what  it  is.  We'll 
tell  you  when  we  come  back.  Stay  where  you 
are  Avith  Iggy.  It  may  not  be  safe  to  go  on 
any  farther. ' ' 

Bob  and  Schnitzel  let  Iggy  lean  up  against 
the  tunnel  wall.  The  Polish  lad  closed  his  eyes 
and  made  himself  as  comfortable  as  possille. 
His  two  companions  looked  ahead  along  t!ie 
dark  shaft  which  connected  the  two  former 
German  dugouts.  They  could  dimly  see 
Jimmy  and  Roger  moving  ahead,  now  and 
then  cautiously  flashing  their  pocket 
torches. 

And  the  strange  sight  that  had  so  startled 
the  two  leading  Khaki  Boys  was  this.  In  the 
second  dugout,  which  did  not  seem  to  have  been 
much  damaged  by  the  blast  that,  for  a  time, 
had  buried  the  EHiaki  Boys,  Roger  and  Jimmy 
saw  four  men.  They  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
old  dugout,  which  had  not  been  used  in  some 
time,  and  on  a  table,  about  which  they  were 
congregated,  burned  a  candle  stuck  in  the  neck 
of  a  bottle. 

But  the  curious  fact  about  it  all  was  that 
while  two  of  the  men  wore  the  regulation 
American  army  uniform,  the  other  two  were  in 
civilian  attire.  And  it  needed  but  an  instant's 
thought  on  the  part  of  Roger  and  Jimmy  to 


20    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

make  them  understand  that  there  was  some- 
thing vitally  wrong  here. 

Civilians  were  not  only  not  supposed  to  he  so 
far  within  the  front  lines,  but  they  were  actually 
forbidden.  It  was  against  all  military  rules  and 
regulations.  No  one  without  a  unifori:!  was 
allowed  so  near  the  front — even  the  newspaper 
correspondents  being  rigidly  required  to  con- 
form to  certain  rules  in  this  respect. 

The  reason  for  this  was  obvious.  So  stem 
were  the  necessities  of  war  that  it  was  impera- 
tive that  each  man  bear  some  distinctive  mark. 
He  was  either  a  friend  or  a  foe,  and  the  only 
way  this  could  be  told,  where  there  were  so 
many  thousands,  was  by  a  uniform. 

Of  course,  the  wearing  of  a  uniform  did  not 
guarantee  that  the  man  inside  it  was  a  friend. 
He  might  be  a  spy.  But  the  appearance  of  men 
in  civilian  garb  within  the  army  lines  caused 
suspicion  at  once.  And  this  suspicion  was  at 
once  engendered  in  the  minds  of  Roger  and 
Jimmy. 

''What  do  you  think  of  that?"  whispered 
Roger. 

*'I  don't  think  very  much,"  was  Jimmy's 
answer,  as  they  paused  at  an  angle  in  the  tunnel 
and  gazed  forward  into  the  candle-lighted  dug- 
out.   "It  looks  bad  to  me." 

** That's  what  I  say. ,,  Those  are  two  dough- 
boys, or  some  of  our  Sammies,  anyhow.  As  for 
the  other  two — ^say,  I  haven't  seen  anyone  in 


ANOTHER  PUZZLE 21 

civies  for  so  long  it  looks  strange.  What  do  you 
think  those  two  civilians  can  be  doing  there  talk- 
ing to  two  of  our  men  ? ' ' 

"I  give  it  up — at  least  for  the  present,'*  said 
Jimmy.  "It's  another  puzzle — ^like  the  time 
when  we  saw  Captain  Frank  Dickerson  at  the 
red  mill,  maybe." 

*'They  could  be  French  refugees,"  went  on 
Eoger.  "Maybe  they  have  been  held  prisoners 
by  the  Germans,  and  just  got  away. ' ' 

"Well,  that's  a  possibility,  of  course,"  as- 
sented his  chum.  "But  they  don't  look  as  if 
they  had  been  in  prison.  They're  too  well 
dressed,  and  they  look  too  well  fed  for  that.  In 
fact  they  look  more  like  Germans  than  French- 
men." 

"They  do,"  assented  Roger,  as  he  peered 
over  his  friend's  shoulder.  "Still  you  can't 
always  tell.  At  one  time  we  thought  Captain 
Dickerson  looked  like  a  German,  but  he  wasn't. 
But  the  fact  that  these  men  are  in  civilian 
clothes  is  what  gets  me.  They  haven't  any  right 
so  far  inside  our  lines  dressed  like  that." 

*  *  You  're  right, ' '  said  Jimmy.  '  *  There 's  some 
sort  of  a  mystery  here.  It  may  turn  out  all 
right,  and  it  may  be  all  wrong.  I'm  going 
to " 

Jimmy  interrupted  himself  to  utter  an  excla- 
mation o^  surprise,  for  suddenly  one  of  the  men 
leaned  over  the  table  and  blew  out  the  candle, 
leaving  the  dugout  in  darkness.    And,  almost 


22    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

as  if  this  was  a  signal  of  some  sort,  there  began 
a  furious  bombardment,  the  echoes  of  which 
came  to  the  ears  of  the  Khaki  Boys.  • 

''They're  at  it  again!"  cried  Eoger. 

"Those  are  our  guns!"  declared  Jimmy. 
"We're  paying  the  Huns  back  for  smashing  our 
fine  dugout ! ' ' 

"The  one  we  took  from  the  Germans,"  added 
his  chum.  ''Say,  Jimmy,"  he  went  on.  "Yon 
know  all  this  around  here  used  to  be  with- 
in the  German  lines;  this  tunnel  and  the  dug- 
outs." 

"Of  course  I  know  it,"  returned  Jimmy. 
"What  of  it?" 

"Well,  maybe  there's  a  secret  yjassage  lead- 
ing over  to  their  new  lines  and  trenches  from 
here.  Maybe  that's  how  those  two  civilians  got 
in  here." 

' '  Nothing  like  that ! ' '  declared  Jimmy.  *  *  The 
German  lines  are  too  far  away  from  here  now. 
Besides,  why  would  two  lone  Germans  venture 
back  in  the  enemy's  camp?  It  isn't  reason- 
able." 

"Well,  there's  something  queer,"  declared 
Roger,  "and  we'd  better  report  it." 

"I  guess  so,"  agreed  the  young  sergeant. 
"But  now  what  shall  we  do — go  ahead  or  wait 
here?" 

"Let's  show  a  light  and  go  on,"  decided 
Roger,  for  they  had  darkened  their  flash  torches 
on  seeing  the  burning  candle.    They  had  stood 


ANOTHER  PUZZLE  23 


in  the  darkness  while  looking  into  the  dugout 
containing  the  four  men. 

Jimmy  hesitated  a  moment.  He  did  not  at 
all  like  the  situation.  It  was  '' extremely  tick- 
lish,'^  he  said  afterward.  To  show  a  light  now, 
when  the  four  men  were  in  darkness,  would 
mean  that  Jimmy  and  Roger  would  be  targets 
for  any  hostile  act.  They  would  be  in  plain 
view  while  the  others  were  not.  Roger  guessed 
something  of  what  was  passing  in  Jimmy's 
mind  for  he  said: 

*' There  can't  be  any  danger.  Those  were  two 
of  our  own  doughboys  there." 

"Yes,"  was  the  answer.  *'I  guess  we  can 
take  a  chance.  But  have  your  automatic  ready 
while  I  show  the  glim.  No  telling  what  may 
happen." 

.  Roger  let  a  faint  gleam  escape  from  between 
two  fingers  which  he  pressed  over  the  small  bulb 
of  his  pocket  flash  lamp.  He  directed  this  gleam 
'into  the  dugout,  and  then  he  and  his  chum  re- 
ceived another  surprise. 

For  the  place  was  empty.  The  four  men — 
two  soldiers  and  two  civilians — ^had  disap- 
peared ! 

As  Jinuny  and  Roger  stood  in  the  tunnel,  a 
few  feet  away  from  the  door  leading  into  the 
dugout,  from  behind  them  came  Bob 's  voice. 

"Say!"  he  whispered,  "are  you  fellows  go- 
ing to  stand  there  chinning  all  day?  We  want 
fo  get  Iggy  somewhere  so  we  can  see  what  the 


24    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

matter  with  him  is !  What's  the  row,  anyhow — 
why  the  traffic  hold-up?" 

** Something  qneer  going  on  here,  that's  all," 
answered  Roger.  ''Come  on  now — the  way's 
clear.    Wow!    Hear  that  gnn!" 

'  *  One  of  our  big  new  ones, ' '  remarked  Jimmy, 
as  the  concussion  shook  the  tunnel  and  rattled 
down  particles  of  dirt  from  the  sides  and  roof. 

"If  there's  fighting  going  on  we  ought  to  be 
in  it!"  exclaimed  Franz,  as  he  and  Bob  started 
on  again  with  the  disabled  Iggy.  They  could 
see  the  dim  gleam  of  Roger's  lamp  ahead  of 
them. 

*'0h,  we'll  get  in  it  as  soon  as  anyone,"  re- 
marked Jimmy.  "But  first  we  want  to  find  out 
what's  going  on  here.  Come  on,  fellows.  We 
can  get  out  of  the  tunnel  and  into  this  dugout, 
anyhow.  This  place  seems  to  be  all  right.  I 
know  my  way  out.  The  cave-in  didn't  extend 
this  far  back. ' ' 

This  was  true.  The  big  shell  that  had  brought 
their  rest  dugout  down  about  the  heads  of  the 
Khaki  Boys  had  done  no  damage  here.  One 
end  of  the  tunnel — that  nearest  the  big  under- 
ground shelter — ^was  partly  demolished,  but  the 
end  connecting  with  the  second  dugout  was  not 
disturbed. 

Into  this  dugout,  then,  went  the  five  Khaki 
Boys,  Iggy  shuffling  along  by  putting  his  arms 
over  the  shoulders  of  Franz  and  Bob.  They 
had  been  obliged  to  proceed  sideways  in  single 


ANOTHER  PUZZLE  25 


\ 


file  along  the  narrow  tunnel,  but  the  dugout  was 
large  enough  to  accommodate  a  dozen  or  more. 

''They.aren't  here!"  exclaimed  Jimmy,  as  he 
quickly  looked  around  the  place,  Roger  having 
relighted  the  candle  in  the  bottle. 

*'AA^o  aren't  here?"  Franz  demanded. 

"The  four  men  we  saw  when  we  stopped  so 
suddenly, ' '  Jimmy  explained.  ' '  They  Ve  gone  1 '  * 

""\Vhere?"  Roger  wanted  to  know. 

Jimmy  pointed  to  a  rude  door  leading  out  of 
the  tunnel.    It  was  answer  enough. 

"Say,  you  fellows  act  as  though  there  was  a 
dark  mystery  here,"  complained  Bob,  as  he 
helped  Iggy  to  a  seat  on  a  box. 

"I'm  beginning  to  think  there  is,"  was  Jim- 
my's answer.  And  hardly  had  the  wordsipassed 
his  lips  than  from  the  door  leading  out  of  the 
dugout  came  a  voice  sa^dng: 

"Come  on  now!  We  can  get  'em  this  way,  I 
guess!" 

The  four  Khaki  Boys  drew  their  revolvers 
and  stood  tense  and  waiting,  forming  a  pro- 
tecting screen  in  front  of  Iggy. 


CHAPTER  IV, 

RECOGNITIOIT 

NATURALLY,  after  what  had  happened 
and  bearing  in  mind  the  strange  sight 
Roger  and  Jimmy  had  mtnessed,  there 
was  bnt  one  thought  in  the  minds  of  at  least 
four  of  the  Khaki  Boys — Iggy  was  temporarily 
out  of  it.  And  this  thought  was  that  some  dis- 
aster had  overtaken  the  American  forces  above 
ground  while  much  was  happening  to  them  be- 
low ground,  in  the  dugout  and  tunnel.  Perhaps 
the  Germans  had  made  a  counter-attack,  retaken 
the  trenches  from  which  they  had  been  driven, 
and  were  now  about  to  swarm  do^vn  into  the 
dugout,  where  the  Khaki  Boys  were,  to  cap- 
ture them. 

** Don't    give    up!'*    cried    Jimmy    fiercely. 
"Stand    'em   off   as   long   as   you   can,   and 

then '' 

26 


RECOGNITION  27 


Oiica  more  he  was  interrupted  by  a  voice  com- 
ing from  the  passage  leading  from  the  dugout. 

'* Lively  now!"  was  the  command.  ''There's 
a  bare  chance  we  may  get  'em  out  this  way,  but 
we've  got  to  hurry!" 

"You  won't  get  us  out  alive!"  said  Bob 
fiercely,  and  he  looked  around  the  dugout  for 
some  way  of  escape.  There  Avere  only  two  en- 
trances— or  exits — whichever  one  might  choose 
to  call  them — the  one  by  which  the  boys  had 
emerged  from  the  tunnel,  and  the  other  by 
which  they  hoped  to  leave.  But  this  last  was 
now  blocked  by  an  approaching  party. 

''Stand  together,  boys!"  said  Sergeant 
Jimmy  in  a  low  voice. 


"Shall  I  douse  the  glim?"  asked  Franz. 

He  was  about  to  blow  out  the  candle  when 
into  the  dugout  came  hurrying  a  squad  of  khaki- 
clad  soldiers,  and  it  needed  but  a  glance  from 
the  Khaki  Boys  to  show  them  that  they  were 
their  own  comrades  of  the  509th  Infantry. 
Lieutenant  Morrison  was  in  charge — an  officer 
of  whom  the  five  Brothers  were  very 
fond. 

"Here  they  are!"  cried  the  lieutenant. 
"How  in  the  world  did  you  boys  escape?  We 
saw  the  place  where  the  big  German  shell 
struck,  and  we  didn't  think  there 'd  be  more 
than  half  of  you  left  alive  after  the  dugout 
caved  in,  as  it  must  have  done.  Yet  here  you 
all  are." 


28    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

^'One^s  missing,  sir,"  said  a  corporal. 
"There  were  five  and " 

*'Here  I  iss!"  exclaimed  Iggy.  "Part  of  me 
is  alif e,  anyhow ! ' ' 

There  was  a  laugh  at  this — a  langh  that  told 
of  overstrained  nerves  being  mercifully  re- 
lieved. 

"Is  he  badly  hurt?"  asked  Lieutenant  Mor- 
rison, as  he  looked  at  the  Polish  lad,  his  friendly 
guard  moving  away  from  in  front  of  him. 

"Something  fell  on  one  foot  when  the  dugout 
gave  way  under  pressure  from  the  Hun  shell," 
explained  Eoger.    "I  hope  it  isn't  bad." 

"Well,  we'll  get  him  to  a  dressing  station  as 
soon  as  possible,"  went  on  the  young  officer. 
"There's  been  a  merry  ruction  up  above,  as  I 
suppose  you  boys  have  guessed.  As  soon  as  I 
got  things  a  bit  straightened  out,  some  one  told 
me  about  a  party  being  on  leave  dov^Ti  in  the 
old  German  dugout,  and  I  at  once  organized  a 
rescue  squad.  How  did  you  manage  to  es- 
cape?" 

Jimmy  and  his  chums  related  their  experi- 
ence, and,  in  turn,  Jimmy  asked : 

"Have  the  Huns  put  one  over  on  us?" 

^ ' They  tried  to, ' '  was  the  grim  answer.  "But 
I  think  we  gave  them  back  a  little  better  than 
they  sent.  We've  got  the  upper  hand  now,  but 
how  long  we  can  keep  it  is  another  question. 
There's  going  to  be  a  big  fight  soon." 

"Good!"  cried  Franz,  his  eyes  brightening. 


RECOGNITION  29 


*'The  more  the  lights,  and  the  bigger  they  are, 
the  sooner  the  Boches  will  quit." 

*'Let  us  hope  so!"  ejaculated  the  lieutenant 
fervently.  Then,  as  he  caught  sight  of  the  re- 
volvers in  the  hands  of  the  four  non-commis- 
sioned officers,  he  asked,  with  a  show  of  sur- 
prise: ''What's  the  game?  Did  you  ha .3  to 
shoot  any  Huns  to  get  out  of  the  dugout  after 
it  collapsed?" 

''Why,  no,  sir,"  answered  Jimmy.  "The 
Germans  didn't  break  in — it  was  only  the  big 
shell  they  sent  over.  But  you  must  have 
met  them  if  you  came  along  the  tunnel  just 
now." 

*'Met  who?"  Lieutenant  Morrison  queried. 

Jimmy  explained,  Roger  putting  in  a  word 
now  and  then.    The  officer  shook  his  head. 

"We  met  no  one, ' '  he  remarked.  " It 's  queer, 
too,  for  there  doesn't  seem  to  be  any  side  pas- 
sage from  this  tunnel,  though  there  may  be 
some  we  don't  know  about.  We  didn't  stop  to 
look,  as  a  matter  of  fact.  As  soon  as  I  heard 
there  were  some  of  our  boys  in  the  smashed 
dugout  I  began  to  plan  a  rescue.  Some  one  re- 
membered this  unused  tunnel  and  dugout,  just 
as  you  remembered  it.  Sergeant  Blaise,  and 
this  was  the  only  way  we  could  get  in  to  save 
you.    But  we  met  no  one  on  our  way." 

"That's  queer,"  declared  Jimmy. 

"It  is,"  agreed  Lieutenant  Morrison.  *'ThiB 
matter  must  be  reported  to  headquarters.    But 


30    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

now  iet^s  get  out  of  here.  No  telling  when  this 
plac9  may  come  down  about  our  ears/' 

Iggy  was  feeling  a  little  better,  having  had 
the  weight  off  his  injured  foot  for  a  while,  and 
soon  they  were  progressing  along  the  tunnel 
toward  the  exit.  This  ti.nnel  was  wider,  and 
on  the  way  along  it  the  four  Khaki  Boys,  as 
well  as  the  members  of  the  relief  party,  looked 
for  side  openings  or  shafts. 

"Here's  one!^'  exclaimed  the  lieutenant. 
* '  Corporal  "Wliite,  you  take  a  man  and  go  along 
it  and  see  if  you  can  find  any  trace  of  the  four 
mentioned  by  Sergeant  Blaise.  Be  on  the  alert. 
Even  two  of  the  men  being  in  American  uni- 
forms would  not  guarantee  anything.  But  this 
is  probably  how  they  eluded  us,''  he  said  to 
Jimmy,  nodding  to  indicate  the  passage. 

A  little  later  the  party  emerged  from  the 
tunnel  that  led  into  the  dugout,  and  they  were 
welcomed  by  their  comrades,  many  of  whom 
had  thought  that  Jimmy  and  his  chums  had 
been  killed,  or  at  least  badly  wounded  when 
the  big  German  shell  smashed  in  the  top  of  the 
shelter. 

Iggy  was  taken  to  a  dressing  station,  and 
later  it  was  learned  that  he  was  not  as  badly 
hurt  as  was  at  first  feared.  He  would  be  back 
in  line  again  Avithin  a  few  days,  it  was  said. 

The  exploration  of  the  side  passage  leading 
off  from  the  tunnel  amounted  to  little.  Cor- 
poral "White  said  he  saw  no  trace  of  the  four 


RECOGNITION  81 


men,  but  he  reported  that  there  was  a  maze  of 
passages  leading  from  the  one  he  examined,  and 
it  was  possible  for  the  four  to  have  hidden  in 
these,  or  to  have  made  their  escape  along  one 
of  the  dark,  winding  tubes  of  earth. 

"Well,  this  makes  the  mystery  all  the  more 
puzzling, ' '  said  Jimmy,  when  he  and  his  chums 
talked  it  over.  * '  I  certainly  would  like  to  know 
who  those  fellows  were — especially  the  ones  in 
uniform. ' ' 

And  there  was  a  deeper  mystery  about  it 
than  he  even  dreamed  of. 

But  little  the  worse  from  their  nerve-racking 
experience  in  the  collapsed  dugout,  Jimmy  and 
his  chums  finished  their  period  of  leave  and 
once  more  took  their  places  with  their  com- 
rades, ready  to  fight  or  do  anything  else  re- 
quired of  them.  Iggy  was  given  a  detail  as 
orderly  to  a  major,  which  made  his  duties  light. 
But  he  was  anxious  to  get  on  the  firing  line 
again. 

It  was  early  one  morning — quite  a  zero  hour, 
in  fact,  though  none  was  set — when  suddenly 
there  began  a  furious  firing  from  the  German 
lines,  removed  only  a  short  distance  at  this  par- 
ticular part  of  the  front  where  the  Khaki  Boys 
were  stationed. 

If  the  German  gunners  hoped  to  take  the 
Americans  by  surprise,  and  by  a  sudden  and 
unexpected  barrage  pave  the  way  for  an  at- 
tack, they  must  have  been  sorely  disappointed. 


32    7'HE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


For  almost  at  the  very  instant  that  the  German 
pieces  began  their  grim  music  there  was  re- 
sponse from  Uncle  Sam,  and  in  greater  volume. 

But  it  was  not  to  be  altogether  an  artillery 
duel.  The  word  was  passed  up  and  do^AH  the 
liae  to  get  readj^  to  repel  an  attack  in  force,  and 
Jimmy,  Roger,  Bob,  and  Franz  tumbled  out  of 
their  blankets,  their  eyes  heavy  Avith  sleep, 
ready  for  the  fight. 

It  was  not  long  in  coming,  for  no  sooner  did 
they  have  their  equipment  on,  from  gas  masks 
at  the  alert  position  to  their  canteens  and  mess 
kits,  than  they  were  ordered  over  the  top. 

* '  Forward !    Forward ! ' '  was  the  cry. 

The  American  fire,  at  first  a  mere  reply  to  the 
challenge  of  the  Boche  artillery,  was  soon 
changed  into  a  protecting  barrage  for  the  thou- 
sands of  doughboys  who  scrambled  out  of  their 
trenches,  and  in  less  time  than  would  seem  pos- 
sible a  fierce  battle  was  raging. 

Jimmy^had  one  glimr)se  of  Bob,  Roger,  and 
Franz  being  directed  off  to  the  right,  while  his 
party  was  ordered  to  the  left.  So,  for  the  time, 
Jimmy  lost  sight  of  his  chums. 

The  battle  was  fierce  and  hot.  In  spite  of  the 
American  barrage,  the  Germans  broke  through 
at  one  point,  and  there  was  hand-to-hand  fight- 
ing, grim  and  terrible  while  it  lasted. 

Jimmy  Blaise  v/as  in  the  thick  of  this.  He 
had  one  vision  of  a  big  burly  German  charging 
him,  his  mouth  wide  open  in  a  yell,  and  his  bayo- 


RECOGNITION  S3 


net  dripping  red.  Then  Jimmy's  rifle  spoke, 
.,.nd  the  German  was  no  longer  in  front  of  the 
Khaki  Boy,  who  leaped  over  his  body  to  keep 
beside  his  comrades. 

Sergeant  Jimmy  saw  another  Hun  taking  aim 
at  Lieutenant  Morrison,  who  was  engaged  with 
a  German  officer.  There  was  no  time  to  warn 
the  lieutenant,  and  Jimmy  did  the  next  best 
thing.  His  bayonet  put  the  Hun  out  of  the  bat- 
tle for  all  time,  and  the  lieutenant,  who  had 
just  defeated  his  opponent,  turned  with  a  look 
that  meant  much  to  Jimmy.  There  was  no  time 
for  words. 

Guns  and  shells  were  crashing  on  all  sides. 
The  Germans  had  brought  up  some  machine 
guns,  and  these  were  doing  fearful  execution 
among  the  Americans  until  the  nests  were  lo- 
cated and  the  crews  working  the  automatic 
death-dealers  killed. 

Sergeant  Blaise  led  in  one  of  these  raids,  and 
he  and  his  comrades  had  swept  triumphantly 
over  the  place,  leaving  only  dead  Germans  to 
tell  the  tale,  when  Jimmy  suddenly  felt  a  great 
blow  on  his  head.  Instantly  all  became  black 
around  him,  and  he  fell. 

For  one  fearful  moment  the  thought  flashed 
through  his  mind  that  he  was  killed — that  this 
was  the  end  of  it  all.  And  then,  as  he  landed 
with  a  thud  on  the  ground,  his  senses  seemed 
to  come  back  to  him. 

His  face  was  wet,  and  something  seemed  to 


84    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

cover  his  eyes.  He  put  his  hand  to  his  face  as 
he  lay  on  the  ground,  a  horrible  fear  coming  to 
him  that  his  eyes  had  been  blown  ont. 

To  his  great  relief  he  found  that  his  vision 
came  back  to  him  when  he  rubbed  his  hand  over 
his  eyes.  And  as  he  looked  at  his  hand  he  found 
that  it  was  not  covered  with  blood,  as  he  had 
feared,  but  with  mud.  A  shell  had  exploded  in 
a  mud  hole  directly  in  front  of  Jimmy,  and  had 
deluged  him  with  the  mucky  stuff,  completely 
covering  his  face  and  eyes. 

"But  I'm  hit,  though,"  he  mused,  as  he  felt 
his  head,  and  this  time  there  was  blood  on  his 
hand.  But  it  did  not  seem  to  be  an  alarming 
amount.  In  fact,  after  the  first  shock,  Jimmy 
felt  as  though  he  could  get  up  and  go  on  fight- 
ing. But  an  officer,  leaping  over  him,  sensed 
the  situation  and  cried: 

**Lie  down  where  you  are!  Some  one  will 
come  for  you  presently.  We've  got  'em  on  the 
run,  but  they  may  sweep  this  place  mth  ma- 
chine guns  again.    Lie  still  where  you  are!" 

Jimmy  had  sense  enough  to  obey,  and  pres- 
ently he  became  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  firing 
in  his  immediate  neighborhood  was  growing 
less.  In  a  few  minutes  it  seemed  to  die  away 
altogether,  and  it  was  not  long  after  that  be- 
fore two  men  came  along  vnth  a  stretcher. 

** Here's  a  live  one!"  the  leader  cried,  as  he 
caught  sight  of  Jimmy,  who  cautiously  raised 
his  head. 


RECOGNITION ^5 

"Hurt  mncli?"  the  second  stretcher  bearer 
asked. 

"Don't  know,"  was  Jimmy's  laconic  answer. 
"Wait  nntil  I  stand  np  and  see." 

But  as  soon  as  he  tried  to  get  on  his  feet  he 
felt  so  weak  and  dizzy  that  he  would  have  fallen 
had  not  one  of  the  men  caught  him. 

"I  guess  it's  a  first-aid  station  for  yours,  old 
man,"  was  the  grim  comment.  And  Jimmy 
shut  his  eyes. 

AVhen  he  opened  them  again  it  was  to  find 
himself  \ymg  on  a  sort  of  table,  with  a  doctor 
bending  over  him. 

"How  do  you  feel?"  asked  the  surgeon. 

"Oh,  sort  of — sort  of "  remarked  Jimmy 

weakly. 

"You'll  do,"  was  the  reply.  "Got  a  nasty 
knock  on  the  head,  but  your  skull  isn't  damaged 
— just  a  scalp  wound.  We  '11  wash  you  up  a  bit 
and  send  you  back.  Here,  orderly,  some  water 
and  bandages." 

Jimmy  closed  his  eyes  and  gritted  his  teeth. 
The  mere  touching  of  the  wound  on  his  head, 
to  wash  and  bandage  it,  was  most  painful,  but 
he  did  not  utter  a  sound.  Then  he  seemed  to 
doze  off,  and  when  again  full  consciousness 
came  to  him  it  was  to  open  his  eyes  in  a  tem- 
porary hospital.  He  was  lying  on  a  cot  under  a 
screen  of  bushes — a  camouflaged  place,  to  pre- 
vent, if  possible,  the  Huns  from  dropping  bombs 
from  airships  on  this  oasis  of  mercy. 


8C    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

And  it  was  while  lying  on  the  cot,  feeling 
more  comfortable  now  that  his  head  was  ban- 
daged, that  Jimmy  saw  a  sqnad  of  soldiers  from 
the  signal  corps  passing  along  the  road.  They 
had  been  ordered  to  the  front  to  establish  bet- 
ter communications,  now  that  the  German  raid 
had  been  repulsed  and  the  Boches  were  being 
forced  to  retreat. 

As  Jimmy  looked  at  two  men  in  the  signal 
squad  carrying  a  black  box,  which  he  recognized 
as  one  containing  part  of  a  wireless  outfit, 
Jimmy  felt  a  queer  sensation. 

<<^Yliy,  I  know  those  two  fellows!"  he  told 
himself,  as  his  eyes  followed  the  m.arching 
twain  carrying  the  black  box.  **I  laiow  them, 
though  this  is  only  the  second  time  I've  seen 
them,  as  far  as  I  can  tell.  The  other  time  was 
in  the  dugout.  Those  are  the  two  army  fellows 
who  were  talking  to  the  two  civilians.  And  now 
to  find  them  in  the  signal  corps !  What  does  it 
meanf 


CHAPTER  V 

BATTLING   ONWARD 

WELL  might  Sergeant  Jimmy  ask  himself 
that  question.  For  a  moment  he  feared 
lest  the  injury  to  his  head  had  caused 
his  brain  to  wander  so  that  he  ''saw  things." 
But  as  he  looked  about  on  other  sights — noted 
wounded  men  being  brought  in,  saw  fresh  fight- 
ers rushing  up  to  the  front,  to  be  ready  if  called 
on — and  when  he  again  looked  toward  the 
marching  squad  of  the  signal  corps  Jimmy  felt 
sure  that  his  brain  was  normal. 

And  there  was  no  doubt,  in  his  mind,  of  what 
he  saw.  He  looked  again  at  the  two  dough- 
boys who  had  attracted  his  attention.  They 
were  in  strong  sunlight,  and  Jimmy  was  sure 
he  could  not  be  mistaken. 

"They're  the  same  two  who  were  in  the  dug- 
out talking  to  the  two  men  in  civilian  clothes," 


38    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

murmured  the  wounded  lad.  *'And  those  two 
civilians  might  be  almost  anyone.  I  only  hope 
they  Averen't  German  spies!  That  would  be 
fierce — to  have  two  of  our  men  meeting  Ger- 
man spies  secretlj''.  But  hold  on — ^wait  a  min- 
ute. There  may  be  another  angle  or  twist  to 
this  game.*' 

Jimmy  raised  himself  on  his  elbow  and  looked 
after  the  disappearing  signal  corps  squad.  The 
two  men  carrying  the  black  electrical  box  were 
in  the  rear  now. 

''Thej'-'re  the  same  two — no  question  of 
tliat,"  decided  Jimmy.  "But  I  may  be  wrong 
in  thinking  they  were  having  a  secret  meeting 
mth  spies.  Those  civilians  may  be  spies,  but 
I  don't  believe  any  of  our  soldiers  would  be  in 
any  underhand  scheme  with  them.  Maybe  they 
were  laying  pipes  to  capture  the  spies,  or  even 
bag  bigger  game.  I  guess  that  was  it.  Hang 
it!  I  wish  I  could  get  up  and  follow  them.  I'd 
like  to  have  a  talk  mth  those  fellows!" 

But  when  Jimmy  tried  to  sit  up  he  found  how 
weak  he  really  was.  The  blow  on  the  head  had 
put  him  out  of  the  fighting  for  the  time  being. 

"Anything  I  can  do  for  you,  old  man?"  asked 
a  Salvation  Army  worker,  coming  along  just 
then.  He  had  been  going  about  giving  hot  soup 
to  such  of  the  injured  as  could  take  it,  and  now 
it  was  Jimmy's  turn. 

"Yes,  I  would  like  a  bit,"  answered  Jimmy 
BlEfcise  to  this  rough  and  ready  angel  of  mercy 


BATTLING  ONWARD  39 


in  the  guise  of  an  unshaven  Salvation  Army 
man.  "That's  great!"  murmured  Jimmy,  as 
the  soup  brought  new  life  to  him. 

He  felt  so  much  revived  that  a  fev/  minutes 
later,  vv^hen  an  orderly  came  past  and  stopped 
beside  Jimmy,  the  Khaki  Boy  began  a  conver- 
sation. 

''Is  the  signal  corps  ordered  to  any  special 
place?"  he  asked. 

''Oh,  no,  just  out  on  general  work,"  wa.s  the 
answer.  "The  Germans  shot  aAvay  some  of  our 
telegraph  lines,  and  they're  going  to  repair  'em, 
I  guess.  Wish  I  was  with  'em,  but  I  can't  be," 
and  he  sighed. 

"Like  that  sort  of  work?"  asked  Jimmy. 

"You  bet!  I'm  a  telephone  repair  man  back 
home,  and  I  was  in  the  signal  corps  until  I  got 
a  wound  that  put  me  out.  I'm  getting  better, 
and  I'll  soon  be  able  to  chuck  this  orderly  berth, 
put  on  my  spurs  and  take  my  pliers  again. ' ' 

"Know  anyone  in  that  signal  corps  bunch?" 
asked  Jimmy. 

"Sure!  Everyone.  I've  been  working  with 
'em  ever  since  this  shindig  started." 

"What's  in  that  black  box  the  two  rear  men 
carried?"  asked  Jimmy,  though  he  pretty  well 
knew  what  the  answer  would  be,  as  he  had  seen 
such  boxes  before. 

"Part  of  a  mreless  outfit,"  was  the  answer. 
"I  was  just  taking  up  that  work  when  I  got  my 
wound  stripe." 


40    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


*'Wlio  were  the  two  lads  carrying  the  box?" 
persisted  Jimmy. 

"You  mean  the  wireless  box?  Oh,  they  were 
two  lads  named  Bixton.  One — ^T\^ilbiir — is  a 
private.    His  brother  Aleck  is  a  corporal." 

** Wilbur  and  Aleck  Bixton,"  said  eTIramy,  and 
at  once  his  brain  began  to  do  some  active  work. 

"Yes,  they  claim  to  be  experts  in  wireless 
work,"  went  on  the  orderly.  "But,  for  my 
part,  I  think  they're  a  couple  of " 

"Orderly!"  came  a  sharp  command  from  a 
surgeon,  "I  need  you  over  here." 

Some  more  wounded  were  being  brought  in. 

"See  you  later,  old  man,"  said  the  surgeon's 
assistant  to  Jimmy.  "Hope  you  get  out  of  this 
dump  soon." 

"Same  here,"  and  Jimmy  smiled  He  did 
not  feel  the  pain  so  much  now,  for  he  was  think- 
ing of  something  else. 

"Bixton!"  he  said  to  himself.  "Aleck  and 
Wilbur  Bixton !    Where  have  I  heard  that  name 

Bixton  before?    Was  it Ha!    I  have  it! 

Back  at  Camp  Sterling !  Private  Bixton !  The 
rascal  we  helped  send  to  prison,  where  he  be- 
longed. No  wonder  that  name  stuck  in  my 
mind!  He's  in  prison  still,  I'm  sure,  for  he  was 
given  a  long  term  for  desertion  and  rascality.'* 

Readers  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Kliaki 
Boys  series  will,  no  doubt,  readily  recall  the 
incidents  referred  to. 

"Bixton!"  mused  Jimmy.    "It  isn^t  a  com- 


BATTLING  ONWARD  41 


nion  name.  And  yet  there  may  be  more  than 
one  who  can  lay  claim  to  it.  I  wonder  if  these 
two  Bixtons  in  the  signal  corp  can  be  any  re- 
lation to  the  Bixton  we  knew.  Let's  see — what 
was  his  first  name — um — no,  I  can't  recall  it. 
Don 't  Imow  that  I  ever  heard  it.  But  the  Bixton 
part  sticks  in  my  mind. 

'*  And  I'm  sure  these  two  Bixtons — Aleck  anc 
Wilbur — ^were  in  the  dugout  with  the  suspicious- 
looking  civilians.  Now,  of  course,  there  may 
be  nothing  wrong  in  that,  and  yet  if  they're  any 
relation  to  Private  Bixton,  late  of  Camp  Ster- 
ling, I  shouldn't  put  it  past  them  to  have  been 
up  to  something  crooked.  The  thing  to  do  is 
to  find  out  for  sure  if  the  two  here  are  related 
to  the  one  left  behind.  That's  what  I'll  do  as 
soon  as  I  get  on  my  feet!  Say,  maybe  I'm  on 
the  track  of  as  queer  a  mystery  as  the  poison 
one  back  in  camp!" 

Jimmy  was  not  quite  as  strong  as  he  had 
thought,  for,  after  trying  to  puzzle  this  out  and 
piece  together  the  various  threads  of  thought 
in  his  mind,  he  felt  very  much  exhausted.  A 
little  later  he  was  sent  to  a  temporary  hospi- 
tal, where  he  remained  for  three  days. 

During  this  time  Jimmy  had  no  chance  to  pur- 
sue his  inquiries  about  the  Bixtons.  But  he  did 
a  lot  of  thinking.  Meanwhile,  the  tide  of  battle 
lulled,  but  it  was  only  temporary — everyone 
knew  that. 

There  came  a  day  when  Jimmy  could  rejoin 


42    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

his  friends,  and  he  found  Iggy  with  them  ready 
to  welcome  him,  for  the  Polish  lad  had  recov- 
ered from  his  injuries  sustained  in  the  diigont. 

"Well,  how  do  yon  feel,  Jimmy? '^  asked 
Koger, 

''Fit  as  a  fiddle!"  was  the  answer.  **That 
little  crack  on  the  head  is  hardly  sore  now.  The 
doc  told  me  to  wear  a  cotton  pad  over  it  nnder 
my  tin  hat,  though,  to  keep  the  pressure  off. 
And  now,  fellows,  I've  got  a  bit  of  news  for 
you." 

*' Haven't  won  another  five  thousand  francs 
reward,  have  you?"  asked  Boh. 

**No.  Wish  I  had.  But  this  is  about  some- 
thing else.  Say,  you  fellows  remember  Private 
Bixton,  back  at  Camp  Sterling,  don't  youf" 

*'I  should  say  I  did!"  cried  Schnitzel,  who 
had  good  reason  to  recall  the  scoundrel.  ''What 
about  him?" 

"AVell,  there  are  two  fellows  here,"  resumed 
Jimmy,  "who  are  of  the  same  name  and " 

"Fall  in!     Fall  in!"  came  a  sudden  order. 

There  was  no  time  to  tell  more.  Word  had 
come  from  the  front  of  activity  along  the  Ger- 
man lines,  and  it  was  feared  there  was  to  be 
an  attack. 

Nor  were  the  fears  groundless,  for  the  Khaki 
Boys  had  no  sooner  reached  the  front-line 
trenches,  being  sent  up  to  relieve  men  that  had 
long  been  on  duty,  than  word  was  passed  along 
that  a  big  battle  was  soon  to  begin. 


BATTLING  ONWARD  43 

"I'll  tell  you  later  what  I  started  to  say  about 
Bixton,''  said  Jimmy,  who  received  instruc- 
tions to  take  charge  of  a  squad  of  men,  none  of 
his  "Brothers"  being  in  the  squad.  He  hur- 
ried away,  and  a  little  later  they  were  battling 
onward  against  heavy  odds. 

The  Huns  had  sprung  something  in  the  na- 
ture of  a  surprise.  It  was  another  of  their 
tierce  attempts  to  break  through  the  American 
line,  and  though  they  did  not  succeed,  they 
placed  parts  of  it  in  danger  and  it  required  the 
sacrifice  of  many  lives  to  hold  back  the  horde 
of  fierce  Bodies. 

"Come  on,  boys!  Come  on!"  cried  Jimmy 
Blaise,  as  he  led  his  squad  across  an  open  field 
which,  time  and  again,  had  been  swept  by  ma- 
chine-gun bullets.    "Come  on!" 

And  with  cheers  they  followed  Mm. 


CHAPTER  VT 

POOR   SCHNITZ 

GRIM  and  terrible  fighting  now  marked 
what  turned  out  to  be  one  of  the  decisive 
engagements  of  the  war  between  the 
Americans  and  the  Germans.  At  this  sector  of 
the  front,  and  just  about  where  the  509th  In- 
fantry was  included  in  the  army  that  was  ex- 
pected to  smash  the  German  line,  there  was 
what  is  called  a  *' spear  head."  That  is,  the 
Germans  had  so  thrust  forward  their  forces  as 
to  occupy  a  small  point  of  territory  with  its 
apex  toward  the  American  front.  It  was  in 
such  ways  as  this  that  the  salients  were  made, 
and  these  were  always  dangerous. 

Sometimes  the  danger  was  to  the  force  mak- 
ing the  spear  point,  for  they  laid  themselves 
open  to  flank  attacks.    Again,  the  danger  was 

44 


POOR  SCHNITZ 45 

to  the  side  into  which  the  point  was  thrust.  For 
the  point  could  be  broadened  and  so  spread  out 
as  to  divide  the  defending  line. 

Indeed,  the  object  of  making  a  salient,  or 
spear  head,  was  just  that — to  divide  and  bend 
back  the  opposing  force,  to  cut  it  in  tAvo,,  so 
tl-at  there  should  be  confusion  in  the  ranks, 
mth  consequent  defeat. 

The  Germans,  as  has  been  said,  had  created  a 
small  spear  head  at  this  point,  and  it  was  in  an 
endeavor  to  enlarge  this  by  a  surprise  attack 
that  the  present  fighting  was  undertaken. 

And,  naturally,  the  Americans  had  to  rally 
to  their  own  defense.  Well  they  knew  that,  if 
the  Huns  once  broadened  the  point,  all  sorts  of 
disasters  might  follow.  So  it  is  no  wonder  that 
Jimmy  and  his  chums,  and  every  Sammie  in  the 
gallant  American  armies,  fought  to  the  death. 
And,  likewise,  with  the  hope  of  victory  before 
them,  it  may  well  be  assumed  that  the  Germans 
also  fought  desperately. 

Forward  over  the  shell-pitted  ground  swept 
the  Americans  to  meet  the  attack  and  beat  it 
back  if  possible.  Their  ovm.  barrage,  directed 
by  aviators  hovering  above  the  contending  ar- 
mies, was  working  well.  It  gave  protection,  but, 
in  a  way,  was  nullified  by  a  counter  barrage  laid 
down  by  the  Boche  gunners. 

And  not  only  was  the  shrapnel  barrage  swee]:^- 
ing  over  the  ^.one  between  the  two  contending 
forces,  but  there  was  a  constant  spray  of  ma- 


46    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


chine-gun  bullets,  to  say  nothing  of  the  fire  from 
thousands  of  rifles. 

Smashes,  bangs,  roars,  and  rattles,  together 
with  cheers  of  encouragement,  yells  of  defiance, 
and  screams  of  sorely  wounded  men  mingled  in 
one  awful,  hideous  maelstrom  of  noise  as  the 
battle  continued. 

Jimmy  Blaise  led  his  small  force  onward,  be- 
ing directed,  of  course,  by  lieutenants,  captains 
or  majors  in  the  advance.  Two  of  Jimmy's 
squad  were  killed  instantly  by  shrapnel,  one  on 
either  side  of  him,  and  their  blood  spattered 
him.  But  he  shut  his  teeth  grimly  and  kept  on. 
And  yet  in  the  midst  of  it  all — even  when  he  was 
fiercely  yelling  to  his  men  to  come  on  and  while 
he  fired  his  rifle  until  it  was  hot  to  his  touch — 
he  could  not  help  thinking  of  his  four  Brothers. 

Where  were  they?  Had  they  been  wounded 
— ^killed,  perhaps?  Or  were  they  still  fighting 
and  struggling  onward  as  was  he,  over  the 
death-impending  ground,  leaping  from  shell- 
hole  to  shell-hole,  now  into  some  water-filled 
crater,  now  out  again,  ever  going  onward,  on- 
ward, onward  unless  stopped  by  death  or  a 
disabling  wound  ? 

*'Well,  I  can  only  hope  for  the  best,"  mused 
Jimmy,  as  he  paused  a  moment  behind  a  hil- 
lock of  dirt  to  get  his  breath.  ''This  is  fierce 
fighting !    I  only  hope  we  smash  through  them ! ' ' 

Then  again  he  plunged  into  the  horrible  din 
and  slaughter,  rallying  such  men  as  he  saw 


POOR  SCHNITZ 47 

needed  to  be  led,  not  because  they  faltered,  but 
because  they  were  bewildered  by  the  terrible 
din  all  about  them. 

Meanwhile  Eoger,  Bob  and  Franz  found 
themselves  close  together  as  they  advanced. 
They  were  rushing  onward  against  a  nest  of 
German  machine  guns,  taking  advantage  of 
such  shelter  as  they  could  find  between  the 
bursts  of  fire. 

''We've  got  to  get  them  out  of  the  way!*' 
panted  Franz,  as  he  wiped  the  blood  from  his 
face — blood  from  a  cut  in  his  head  caused  by  a 
fragment  of  a  shrapnel  shell  which,  had  it  gone 
a  half  inch  closer,  would  have  ended  his  fight- 
ing days. 

' '  That 's  right ! ' '  agreed  Bob.  "  They  're  hold- 
ing up  the  advance  at  this  point.  Come  on  now. 
"When  they  get  through  the  next  volley  let's 
rush  'em.  They  must  stop  a  moment  to  put  in 
a  fresh  belt  of  cartridges." 

''Their  machine  guns  fire  faster  than  ours — 
at  least  they  load  faster,"  observed  Roger,  as 
the  three  paused,  even  as  Jimmy  had  done,  in 
a  crater  to  get  a  moment's  respite.  "That  flex- 
ible belt  of  cartridges  goes  in  the  firing  chamber 
quicker  than  our  brass  clips  do,  I'm  thinking." 

"But,  even  at  that,  our  boys  work  our 
guns  to  better  advantage,"  declared  Franz. 
"They've  got  the  knack  of  jamming  in  the  cart- 
ridge clips,  and  though  the  Huns  ought  to  fire 
faster,  they  don't,  as  a  rule.    Well,  come  on! 


48    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Let's  get  the  job  over!"  he  said  grimly,  ad- 
dressing those  around  him,  who  were  waiting 
for  the  word  to  go  on  and  wipe  up  the  nest  of 
Hun  machine  gunners. 

With  yells  they  started  out  of  the  hole,  but 
at  that  instant  a  shell  descended  directly  on  an 
old  house  where  the  Germans  had  made  a  stand, 
placing  no  less  than  ten  machine  guns  in  the 
structure,  as  was  learned  later.  The  shell  came 
from  the  American  lines,  and  was  doubtless 
aimed  according  to  directions  signaled  back  by 
some  Allied  aviator.  It  fell  directly  on  the 
house,  and  being  an  H.  E.  shell — that  is,  high 
explosive — the  damage  wrought  was  terrific. 

In  one  great  blast,  directly  in  front  of  the 
boys,  and  so  close  as  to  scatter  dirt  and  small 
stones  all  about  them,  the  house  that  sheltered 
the  Boches  was  blown  apart.  And  with  it  went 
the  machine  guns  and  those  serving  the  wea- 
pons. That  nest  was  wiped  out,  and  with  wild 
yells  the  Khald  Boys  rushed  forward  to  take 
advantage  of  the  gap  thus  made  in  the  German 
line. 

''Well,  that  saved  us  a  lot  of  work,"  cried 
Franz,  as  they  swept  past  the  place  where  the 
house  had  been.  Now  it  was  but  a  hole  in  the 
ground. 

"Yes,  and  it  saved  a  lot  of  lives,"  added  Bob. 
*'But  the  job  isn't  finished  yet.  We've  got  to 
go  on!" 

"You  said  it!"  came  grimly  from  Roger. 


POOR  SCHNITZ  49 


**Say,  look  on  either  side  of  us!''  he  added. 
''This  is  one  of  the  biggest  battles  of  the  war." 

And  so  it  proved.  As  the  boys,  taking  a  little 
breathing  spell  just  beyond  the  machine-gun 
nest,  looked  to  either  side  of  them  up  and  down 
the  conflicting  lines,  they  saw  how  the  tide  of 
battle  was  going.  And  at  no  point  were  the 
Americans  giving  way.  Ever  they  were  press- 
ing onward.  The  German  spear-head  was 
broken  off  and  flattened — being  rendered  harm- 
less. In  fact,  it  was  being  turned  so  as  to  be- 
come a  veritable  thorn  in  the  side  of  the  Boche 
enemy. 

Iggy,  the  Polish  lad,  rejoicing  that  he  was 
again  in  the  battle  fighting  for  the  beloved  land 
of  his  adoption,  had,  early  in  the  conflict,  lost 
contact  with  Bob,  Franz,  and  Roger.  But  this 
had  happened  before  during  fights,  and  Iggy 
w^as  so  desperately  in  earnest  in  firing  his  rifle 
at  the  foe,  in  rushing  forward  at  the  word  of 
command,  and  in  seeking  such  shelter  as  there 
was  when  told  to,  that  he  had  little  time  to 
think  of  his  friends. 

Bob,  Roger,  and  Franz,  after  passing  the  de- 
molished machine-gun  nest,  soon  found  them- 
selves, together  with  others  of  their  company, 
in  a  small  patch  of  woods. 

' '  Rest  here, ' '  directed  a  lieutenant.  * '  There 's 
a  spring,  and  you  can  get  some  water.  There'll 
be  plenty  of  hard  fighting  yet,  so  take  it  easy 
when  you  can." 


50    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

"Water!  Oh,  boy!"  came  the  cries  of  de- 
light from  the  thirst-parched  and  wearied  lads. 
And  never  did  liquid  taste  sweeter.  It  re- 
freshed them  more  than  can  easily  be  imag- 
ined. 

Then  came  the  order  to  go  forward,  and  in  a 
fierce  bit  of  fighting  that  followed,  Franz 
Schnitzel  fonnd  himself  out  of  contact  not  only 
with  Bob  and  Roger,  but  also  away  from  any 
others  of  his  company. 

"This  won't  do!  Got  to  get  back!"  he  de- 
cided.   "They  must  be  off  to  my  left." 

He  turned  in  that  direction.  Then,  as  he 
passed  around  a  small  knoll,  he  saw  three  Ger- 
mans gathered  about  a  machine  gun  down  in  a 
little  depression.  Something  seemed  to  be 
wrong  with  the  mechanism,  and  the  three  heads 
were  bent  over  the  breech. 

"The  beasts ! "  cried  Schnitz  in  a  hoarse  whis- 
per. "They  must  have  hidden  here  when  our 
lines  passed  over,  and  now  they're  going  to  pep- 
per them  from  the  rear.  But  not  if  I  can  stop 
it!" 

Making  sure  that  his  rifle  magazine  was  filled 
and  that  he  had  some  hand  grenades  and  that 
his  pistol  was  where  he  could  get  at  it,  Franz 
worked  his  way  quietly  along  until  he  was 
within  a  few  feet  of  the  three  Germans. 

"Hands  up!"  he  suddenly  cried,  leveling  his 
rifle. 

Whether  or  not  the  Huns  understood  these 


POOR  SCHNITZ  51 


characteristic  American  words  is  a  question. 
But  they  could  not  mistake  the  tone  of  voice 
Schnitzel  used.  Immediately  six  hands  were 
elevated,  and  with  one  accord,  as  the  Germans 
turned  and  faced  the  lone  lad. 

"Kamerad!    Kameradf  they  cried. 

**That  sounds  like  it!"  said  Franz  grimly. 
**Take  off  your  pistols  and  toss  'em  on  the 
ground.  Then  form  in  line  and  march.  You  re 
my  prisoners ! ' ' 

The  men  obeyed  sullenly  enough.  By  ges- 
tures Franz  indicated  that  they  were  to  march 
ahead  of  him  back  toward  the  American  lines. 
His  heart  was  jubilant  at  the  capture.  Not  only 
had  he  prisoners,  but  he  had,  alone,  cleanad  up 
a  machine-gun  nest. 

But  alas  for  poor  Schnitz!  He  had  hardly 
marched  his  trio  of  Huns  more  than  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  when,  as  they  turned  around  a  clump 
of  bushes,  they  came  face  to  face  with  a  large 
party  of  Germans  led  by  a  pompous  captain. 

Instantly  the  three  prisoners  set  up  a  yell, 
explaining  the  situation,  and  with  answering 
yells  their  comrades  rushed  toward  them. 

**I  guess  the  game's  up!"  thought  Franz 
grimly.    ''This  was  too  good  to  last!" 

He  fired  into  the  midst  of  the  Gennans,  see- 
ing two  go  down.  Then  some  one  either  crept 
up  behind  him  and  struck  him  or  he  was  hit  by 
a  missile  thrown  or  by  a  glancing  bullet,  for 
he  suddenly  fell  and  lost  consciousness,  and 


52    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


when  he  revived,  under  a  rain  of  kicks  bestowed 
on  his  prostrate  body  by  a  brutal  soldier,  it  was 
to  find  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  circle  of  Huns. 

'*Get  up,  pig-dog  of  an  American!"  splin- 
tered the  German  captain.  "You  will  c^.pture 
our  men,  will  youf  Now  you  are  a  prisoner. 
The  tables  are  turned!" 

He  spoke  in  German,  and,  of  course,  Franz 
understood.  Before  he  realized  what  he  was 
doing  he  snapped  back  an  answer  in  the  same 
tongue,  not  thinking  Avhat  the  consequences 
would  be. 

**I  won't  be  a  prisoner  long!"  said  Franz. 

Hearing  his  own  language  from  an  enemy 
prisoner,  he  reached  the  conclusion  that  the 
speaker  was  of  German  parentage.  This 
seemed  to  enrage  the  Boche  captain.  With 
crimson  face  he  yelled: 

''Ho!  So  you  are  a  renegade  German,  are 
you?  You  fight  against  your  o^\ti  countr^rmen! 
"Well,  we  know  the  right  punishment  for  that. 
Get  up,  you  traitor!"  and  he  kicked  poor 
Schnitz  brutally.  "Drag  him  along  if  he  won't 
walk!"  cried  the  captain  to  his  men,  and  some 
of  them,  with  ready  bayonets,  drew  nearer  to 
Franz, 


w 


CHAPTER  Vn 

DAYS  OF  SORROW 

*<^\7^E'RE  smashing-  through!  We're 
smashing  through!" 
It  Avas  Jimmy  who  cried  this.  A 
turn  of  the  battle  had  thro\\'Ti  him  in  contact 
with  Roger,  Bob,  and  Iggy  after  some  hours  of 
fighting,  and  once  more  they  were  pressing  on- 
ward again. 

There  had  been  only  time  for  a  hurried  word 
of  inquiry — enough  to  learn  that  none  of  the 
four  was  injured  at  all  seriously,  though  each 
one  had  had  narrow  escapes. 

"Seen  anything  of  Schnitz?'^  cried  Jimmy, 
as  he  leaped  forward  to  the  attack  again. 

"He  was  with  us  a  little  while  ago,"  shouted 
Bob.    "I  guess  we'll  find  him  up  ahead!" 

They  did  not  know  the  fate  that  had  befallen 
poor  Franz. 

53 


54    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

"Are  you  all  right,  Iggy?"  asked  Eoger. 

''Sure  I  iss!  Of  what  is  left  of  me.  But  I 
a  piece  of  my  tin  hat  dit  leaf  behind,"  and  he 
showed  where  a  bullet  or  a  fragment  of  shrap- 
nel had  shorn  away  part  of  his  steel  helmet. 

"Close  call  that,"  commented  Bob. 

"Oh,  Avell,  I  should  of  worry  haf  dot  it  iss 
not  mine  head,"  said  Iggy,  with  a  smile. 

And  while  the  four,  together  with  a  vast 
army  of  Americans,  were  pressing  on,  the  Ger- 
mans were  being  driven  back.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  Jimmy  had  cried  out  that  the  Allies  were 
smashing  through. 

For  the  spear-head  had  been  beiit  back.  No 
longer  was  it  a  menace,  and,  in  tl.eir  turn,  the 
Americans  were  forcing  one  into  the  German 
line — a  broader  spear-head,  with  the  consequent 
chance  of  dividing  the  foe's  line  and  turning 
either  flank. 

"Come  on,  boys!  Come  on!"  cried  a  lieu- 
tenant. "Let's  finish  the  job.  Only  a  few  hun- 
dred more  yards,  and  v/e'll  have  reached  our 
objective!" 

And  on  they  rushed,  some  falling,  destined 
never  to  see  the  final  glory  of  the  American 
arms,  others  staggering  along,  exhausted  or 
wounded,  but  never  slacking  while  they  had  life 
to  move. 

And  finally,  after  a  desperate  struggle,  the 
triumphant  cry  that  Jinuny  had  raised  was 
shouted  all  along  the  line : 


DAYS  OF  SORROW 66 

< '  We  're  smashing  through !  We  're  smashing 
through!'* 

And,  indeed,  the  German  line  was  smashed 
at  this  particular  sector.  They  were  fleeing 
now — the  Huns.  Throwing  aside  their  guns  and 
equipment,  there  was  a  mad  struggle  to  get 
away — anywhere  for  safety. 

Back  the  Germans  were  pushed.  They  were 
in  desperation,  many  of  them.  They  feared  the 
American  guns,  they  feared  the  American  in- 
fantry, and  they  feared  the  ^'Teufel  Eirnds" — 
the  "devil  dogs" — of  Marines.  And  the  fear 
was  translated  into  flight. 

"Cease  filing!"  came  the  whistled  order,  and 
it  was  with  thankful  hearts  that  Jimmy  and  his 
three  Brothers  dropped  down  on  the  shell- 
scarred  earth,  too  exhausted  to  longer  hold 
their  guns  or  even  to  stack  them.  It  had  been 
a  battle  to  the  death,  and  death  had  been  the 
portion  of  many. 

Almost  before  the  panting  breath  of  the  tired 
isoldiers  had  been  throttled  down  to  normal 
came  the  order: 

"Dig  in!" 

It  was  expected,  but  it  was  none  too  welcome. 
Nevertheless,  they  all  knew  the  necessity  of  do- 
ing as  they  were  told.  At  any  moment  the  Ger- 
mans might  bring  up  reserves  and  make  a  coun- 
ter-attack.   This  must  be  guarded  against. 

And  so  the  weary  Sammies  had  to  scratch 
holes  in  the  ground,  like  veritable  animals,  to 


56    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

obtain  shelter.  Still  no  one  miirmnred.  They 
knew  their  very  lives  might  depend  on  this  rude 
shelter. 

But  as  night  settled  down  it  "began  to  be  evi- 
dent that  the  Boche  had  had  enongh.  He  was 
not  going  to  make  a  counter-attack — at  least 
not  until  his  scattered  forces  were  collected. 

And  then  came  a  rest  period,  when  such  food 
as  was  available  was  eaten.  It  was  not  much — 
merely  the  emergency  rations,  but  the  soldiers 
were  glad  enough  to  eat  them.  They  had  ad- 
vanced so  far  that  it  Avas  impossible  to  bring 
up  the  kitchens  in  time. 

'^ Where  are  you  going,  Jimmy?*'  asked 
Koger,  as,  after  the  hasty  meal,  he  saw  the 
young  sergeant  get  up  and  move  about. 

''I'm  going  to  see  if  I  can  get  any  word  of 
Franz,"  was  the  answer.  "You  say  he  was 
with  you  fellows  until  just  before  you  met  me." 

*'Yes,"  said  Bob.  ''He  was  with  us  when  we 
were  going  to  attack  the  house  where  the  ma- 
chine guns  were.  One  of  our  shells  saved  us 
the  trouble.  Then  we  all  went  on  and  got  into 
a  sort  of  little  gully.  Eight  after  that  I  missed 
Franz." 

"I  didn't  see  him  after  that,  either,"  added 
Eoger.  "I  hope  he — I  hope  he's  all  right,"  he 
faltered. 

' '  Oh,  I  guess  he  is, ' '  said  Jimmy,  but  he  could 
not  get  much  conviction  into  his  voice.  Truth 
to  tell,  Jimmy  did  not  really  believe  Franz  was 


DAYS  OF  SORROW  67 


all  right.  Of  course,  lie  might  have  been  swept 
to  the  right  or  the  left  in  the  waves  of  fighting 
and  have  been  kept  temporarily  with  some  other 
detachment  than  his  own.  But  several  hours 
had  now  passed  since  the  word  had  been  given 
to  cease  firing,  and  Franz  had  not  rejoined  his 
own  company. 

''I'm  going  to  see  if  I  can  get  any  trace  of 
him,"  declared  Jinmiy. 

''Maybe  I'd  better  come  along,"  suggested 
Roger.    "Two  can  hunt  better  than  one." 

"All  right,"  Jimmy  assented.  "Bob,  yon 
and  Iggy  stay  here.  Keep  your  ears  and  eyes 
open.  Franz  may  come  back  while  we're 
away. ' ' 

Jimmy  and  Roger  obtained  permission  to  go 
back  over  the  battleground  to  look  for  their 
comrade.  It  was  a  gruesome  task,  and  the 
sights  they  saw  were  not  pleasant.  Here  and 
there  the  stretcher  bearers  were  busy  taking 
the  wounded  to  the  nearest  first-aid  stations. 

Roger  led  the  v:ay  to  the  last  place  he  had 
seen  Franz.  This  was  the  little  gull3^  spoken  of, 
where  Schnitz  had  become  separated  from  his 
companions  just  before  he  discovered  the  three 
German  machine  gunners,  w^hom  he  made  pris- 
oners. But,  of  course,  Roger  and  Jimmy  knew 
nothing  of  this. 

They  searched  as  best  they  could  in  the  fast- 
gathering  darkness,  but  found  no  trace  of  Franz 
Schnitzel,  nor  did  they  get  any  word  about  him. 


58    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Many  to  whom  the  two  spoke  knew  the  ser- 
geant, but  they  declared  they  had  not  seen  him 
except  during  the  early  part  of  the  battle. 

"Maybe  he'll  show  up  to-morrow,"  said 
Roger  hopefully,  when  he  and  Jimmy  turned 
back  to  join  Bob  and  Iggy. 

*' Maybe  he's  back  with  the  boys  now,"  sug- 
gested Jimmy,  trying  to  believe  what  he  said. 

But  when  they  joined  their  chums  there  was 
no  word  from  the  missing  "Brother,"  and  it 
was  with  sorrowful  hearts  that  they  passed  the 
night.  Some  of  them  were  on  guard  duty,  and 
through  the  long  watches  they  waited  eagerly 
for  some  w^ord.    But  none  came. 

Then  followed  days  of  sorrow,  for  when 
morning  dawned,  bringing  with  it  the  work  of 
constructing  new  trenches,  Franz  had  not  ap- 
peared, and  when  the  roll  was  called  he  was 
listed  as  "missing  in  action." 

"He's  either  dead  or  a  prisoner,"  decided 
Jimmy,  on  the  third  day,  when  it  was  certain 
that  Schnitz  was  not  among  the  wounded. 

"If  he  were  dead  wouldn't  we  find  his  body?" 
asked  Bob. 

"Not  necessarily,"  answered  Jimmy.  "If  a 
shell  landed  near  him  he " 

But  he  could  not  finish.  It  was  not  neces- 
sary.   His  comrades  understood  what  he  meant. 

As  for  Franz,  he  was  beaten  and  kicked  to 
his  feet  and  made  to  stagger  on  in  the  midst  of 
his  captors.     The  blow  on  his  head  had  only 


DAYS   OF  SORROW  59 


stunned  him.  It  was  not  serious,  though  very 
painful,  and  he  felt  in  a  daze  as  he  was  stripped 
of  his  weapons  and  most  of  his  possessions  and 
made  to  march  in  a  round-about  way  toward 
the  German  lines.  At  this  point  the  two  forces 
were  close  together,  and,  as  Franz  had  sur- 
mised, the  Americans  had  fairly  rushed  over 
the  machine-gun  nest,  or  rather,  they  had 
passed  on  either  side  of  it.  And  the  Huns  were 
preparing  to  use  the  weapon  in  a. sort  of  rear 
action  when  Franz  captured  them,  only,  him- 
self, to  fall  a  like  victim  a  little  later. 

*' Traitor  I  Dog!  Pig!'^  were  some  of  the 
mildest  epithets  cast  at  Franz,  as  he  was  half- 
dragged  along.  Nor  was  it  all  mere  words.  He 
was  kicked  and  cuffed,  for  the  Germans  seemed 
to  like  to  vent  their  spite  on  him. 

But  Schnitz  was  game.  Not  a  complaint  did 
he  utter.  But  he  wondered  what  would  be  his 
fate  and  whither  he  was  being  taken. 

"Another  prison  camp,  I  suppose,*'  he  re- 
flected bitterly. 


CHAPTER  Vm 

STARTLING   INFORMATION 

COISrVICTION  that  Franz  was  in  dire 
straits  somewhere  became  almost  cer- 
tainty with  Jimmy  and  his  three  chmns 
as  the  days  went  by.  But  where,  they  did  not 
know.  A  earefnl  search  had  failed  to  reveal 
his  body,  and  he  was  not  among  the  wounded 
brought  back  to  the  hospitals. 

But  no  inquiry  could  disclose  where  he  was 
in  case  the  Germans  had  him  a  prisoner. 
JinmiY  told  his  chums  that.  And  there  was 
no  positive  proof  that  he  was  not  killed.  For 
mpuy  bodies  were  in  such  a  state  as  to  be  un- 
recognizable, and  from  some  even  the  identi- 
ficption  disk  was  missing. 

'^*Poor  Franz !'^  sighed  Bob,  as  the  four 
talked  it  over  together  in  the  trenches  or  in 
some  dugout,  for  they  found  several  that  the 

'60 


jSr£22TL/A^£^  INFORMATION  61 

Gennans  had  been  forced  to  abandon.  "It's 
just  his  luck  to  be  captured  again." 

"Well,  let's  hope  that  he  has  that  luck," 
suggested  Roger.  *'0f  course,  it's  tough  luck, 
all  right,  but  being  captured,  even  by  a  Hun^ 
is  some  better  than  being  killed.  There's  e, 
chance  if  you're  a  prisoner — always  a  chance 
of  escaping.  But  there 's  no  escape  from  death. 
Of  course,  I  know  that  to  be  in  some  of  the 
prison  camps  is  almost  worse  than  death.  But 
let's  hope  for  the  best." 

"The  worst  of  it  is  we  can't  do  anything!" 
complained  Bob.  "That's  what  gets  me — Shav- 
ing to  sit  here  and  let  him  suffer  nia7/-be." 

"  It  is  hard, ' '  agreed  Jimmy.  *  *  But  we  aren  't 
doing  much  sitting  around.  There's  too  much 
else  to  be  done.  I've  got  to  go  out  on  listening 
post  soon." 

"I'm  down  for  sentry  go,"  added  Hoger. 

"la  letter  will  write  to  mine  mothar!"  de- 
cided Iggy.  "I  from  being  up  by  de  front  door 
haf  been,  so  I  get  a  vacation." 

"You're  entitled  to  it,"  declared  Jimmy. 
For  the  Polish  lad  had  been  assigned  to  a 
trench  where  German  snipers  were  active,  and 
more  than  one  American  had  lost  his  life  by  the 
incautious  exposure  of  just  the  top  of  his  head. 
Iggy  had  had  the  luck  to  spot  one  of  these  pests, 
and  had  brought  down  the  Hun,  thereby  win- 
ning the  gratitude  of  his  comrades. 

But  even  the  hardest  kind  of  duty  couid  not 


62    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


take  from  the  four  Brothers  the  sorrow  that 
was  in  their  hearts  over  Franz.  It  was  almost 
worse  than  knoY\ang  he  was  dead,  not  to  know 
v/hat  had  become  of  him. 

But  there  was  nothing  they  could  do.  Jimmy 
spoke  to  their  captain  about  it,  but  the  officer 
shook  his  head. 

"I've  made  inquiries,"  he  said,  ''but  there 
isn't  a  trace  of  the  sergeant.  Too  bad,  too,  for 
he  was  a  fine  lad.  We  can  only  hope.  And,  if 
he  is  gone,  make  the  beasts  pay  for  him!" 

It  was  about  a  week  after  the  successful  ad- 
vance of  the  American  forces  when  the  spear- 
head had  been  wiped  out  and  the  German  lines 
smashed  completely  through  in  several  places 
that  Jimmy  and  Koger  were  detailed  to  go  some 
distance  to  the  rear  mth  messages  and  infor- 
mation for  headquarters.  They  were  assigned 
to  a  motorcycle  and  side  car,  Jimmy  on  the 
machine  and  Roger  riding  beside  him. 

*'Well,  this  is  a  whole  lot  better  than  hiking 
it!"  said  Jim.my,  as  they  started  off. 

* '  I  don 't — ^know — that — it — is ! ' '  stuttered 
Roger,  as  the  car  swerved  from  side  to  side 
over  the  rough  roads.  ''AVhen  you  walk  you 
can  go  slow  enough  not  to  bite  your  tongue, 
but  in  this  outfit  you  seem  to  hit  only  the  high 
and  low  spots." 

"It  isn't  what  you'd  call  an  asphalt  pave- 
ment," agreed  Jimmy,  as  he  steered  to  one  side 
to  avoid  a  big  shell  hole.    '  *  But  we  '11  get  there. ' ' 


STARTLING  INFORMATION 


Their  jonrnoy  was  not  exactly  void  of  dan- 
ger, for  about  halfway  to  the  brigade  headquar- 
ters, where  they  were  to  leave  their  messages, 
several  Hun  aeroplanes  passed  over  the  Ameri- 
can lines.  And  at  once  some  Allied  machines 
came  swooping  along  to  give  them  combat.  The 
German  machines  dropped  several  bombs,  evi- 
dently searching  out  ammunition  dumps,  and 
one  explosion  took  place  in  the  road  just  before 
Roger  and  Jimmy  passed  over  the  spot  on  the 
motorcycle. 

"A\Tiew!"  cried  Jimmy,  as  he  crouched  to 
avoid  the  shower  of  dirt  and  stones.  '  *  That  was 
a  close  one!" 

''Too  close  for  comfort!"  agreed  Roger. 
' '  Can  you  get  around  that  hole  ? ' ' 

"Just  about,"  murmured  Jimmy.  **It's 
some  hole!" 

But  that  was  the  only  bomb  that  fell  near 
them,  and  it  was  evident  that  it  was  not 
dropped  for  their  discomfiture.  For,  though 
the  Plun  airmen  might  have  observed  the  motor- 
cycle shooting  along  beneath  them,  they  would 
hardly  have  wasted  a  big  bomb  on  it,  when  they 
might  use  the  same  w^eapon  to  set  off  a  lot  of 
American  amm.unition. 

"They're  getting  a  bit  too  personal,"  ob- 
served Roger,  as  they  speeded  on.  "And  look, 
Jimmy !  There  are  a  lot  of  our  planes  going  to 
smash  up  the  Huns  now." 

"Good  enough!"  returned  Jimmy,  not  taking 


64>    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

his  eyes  off  the  road  ahead  of  him,  for  careful 
driving  was  required. 

*' Maybe  the  Twinkle  Twins  are  up  there,'* 
added  Eoger,  gazing  aloft. 

*' Maybe,"  assented  Jimmy.  And  then,  strik- 
ing a  f airl^''  good  stretch  of  road,  he  put  on  more 
speed,  and  they  were  soon  at  headquarters. 

Most  of  the  officers,  as  well  as  many  of  the 
men,  were  out  watching  the  combat  of  the  air. 
It  soon  terminated  in  favor  of  the  Americans, 
and  when  two  of  the  hostile  craft  had  been  shot 
down  the  others  turned  tail  and  fled. 

"I  hope  our  boys  got  the  Hun  who  dropped 
the  bomb  so  near  us!"  exclaimed  Koger. 

They  delivered  their  message,  and  were  wait- 
ing for  an  answer  to  be  prepared  when  they  ob- 
served a  squad  of  signal  corps  men  passing  on 
their  way  to  duty.  The  officer  in  command  had 
to  stop  at  brigade  headquarters  for  instructions, 
and,  leaving  his  men  standing  at  ease,  he  went 
inside  the  old  farmhouse  which  served  as  an 
office  for  the  commanders. 

''That's  the  same  outfit  the  Bixtons  are 
with,"  said  Jimmy  to  Roger,  recalling  the  in- 
cident of  the  dugout  and  his  subsequent  recog- 
nition of  the  two  soldiers  who  had  been  talking 
to  the  civilians. 

"Are  they  there  now?"  asked  Roger. 

"Don't  see  'em.  But  maybe  I  can  get  some 
information.  I'd  like  to  know  if  Private  Bix- 
ton,  the  chap  we  exposed  at  Camp  Sterling,  is 


STARTLING  INFORMATION  65 

any  relation  to  the  two  men  of  the  same  name 
here. ' ' 

Jimmy  strolled  over  toward  the  men  of  the 
signal  corps  who  were  waiting  for  the  reappear- 
ance of  their  officers.  Some  of  the  lads  who 
formed  part  of  the  *'eyes  and  ears''  of  the 
army  nodded  in  friendly  fashion  to  the  two 
Khaki  Boys,  and  Jimmy,  selecting  a  man  who 
seemed  to  be  a  veteran  in  fighting  and  in  signal 
work,  remarked: 

"Haven't  you  a  couple  of  fellows  named  Bix- 
ton  in  yonr  outfit?" 

"Why,  yes,  the  Bixton  hoys  are  with  us," 
was  the  answer  of  the  private  to  whom  Jimmy 
addressed  himself.  "That  is,  they  belong  to 
our  outfit,  but  they're  not  here  now.  They're 
going  to  join  us  before  we  go  much  further  to 
the  front,  though.  Why,  do  you  lads  know 
'em?" 

"Not  exactly,"  returned  Jimmy.  "We've 
seen  'em,"  he  added,  not  specifying  where. 
"But  we  knew  a  fellow  back  home — at  Camp 
Sterling,  to  be  exact — w^hose  name  was  Bixton, 
and  we  wondered  if  he  was  any  relation  to  these 
two  here." 

"Oh,  ho !  so  you  knew  Mike  Bixton,  did  you?" 
exclaimed  the  signal  corps  private,  who  gave 
his  name  as  Anson. 

"I  didn't  know  his  name  was  Mike,"  said 
Roger.  "Guess  we  never  heard  his  first  name, 
did  we,  Jimmy?" 


66    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


*'Not  that  I  remember.  So  he's  a  relative  of 
these  Bixtons,  is  he?" 

**A  cousin,"  volunteered  Anson.  "Course  I 
don't  want  to  get  personal,"  he  went  on  in  a 
sort  of  free-and-easy  Western  style,  "but  what 
sort  of  chap  was  this  Mike  Bixton?" 

Jinnny  and  Eoger  hesitated.  It  was  hardly 
ethics  to  talk  about  a  fellow  soldier,  and  yet 
Private  Bixton  was  out  of  that  class.  He  was 
a  deserter,  entitled  to  no  consideration,  and  lie 
was  worse  than  a  deserter — he  was,  in  fact,  a 
traitor. 

"Well,  to  be  frank,  and  not  to  spread  bad 
information,  we  didn't  know  very  much  good 
about  Bixton  of  Camp  Sterling,"  said  Jimmy. 

* '  I  thought  so ! "  chuckled  Anson.  ' '  I  thought 
where  there  was  so  much  smoke  there  must  be 
a  bit  of  fire." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  asked  Roger. 

"Well,  these  Bixtons  here,"  went  on  Anson, 
stepping  aside  to  speak  more  confidentially  to 
Roger  and  Jimmy,  "are  making  quite  a  fuss 
over  their  cousin,  Mike  Bixton." 

"Wliat  sort  of  fussf"  asked  Jimmy. 

"Oh,  saying  he  didn't  get  fair  treatment,  that 
he  was  misunderstood,  that  everybody  was 
down  on  him,  and  all  that.  I  don't  know  all  the 
particulars,  but  I  judge  Mike  must  have  been 
punished  in  some  way  at  Camp  Sterling." 

"He  was  sent  to  prison  as  a  deserter,"  said 
Jimmy. 


STARTLING  INFORMATION  67 


**  Cracky!  As  bad  as  that!  Well,  well  I  I 
suspected  there  was  an  African  gentleman  in 
the  fuel  heap  somewhere,"  chuckled  Anson. 
**That  accounts  for  a  lot." 

**A  lot  of  what?"  asked  Eoger. 

**A  lot  of  talk  by  these  Bixtons.  They  claim 
their  cousin  was  persecuted  by  a  couple  of  lads 
in  Camp  Sterling.  Say  these  two  lads — ^who- 
ever they  were — did  all  sorts  of  mean  things  to 
Mike  Bixton  in  the  training  camp. 

"And  what's  m.ore,"  went  on  the  old  signal- 
corp  soldier,  "these  Bixtons  here  say  that  if 
they  ever  find  out  who  the  two  camp  fellows 
w^ere  who  helped  send  their  relative  away 
they'll  do  all  sorts  of  things  to  'em — treat  'em 
rough,  and  all  that.  I'd  just  like  to  see  what 
they  would  do  if  they  found  out  who  the  camp 
lads  were.  I'd  just  like  to  see.  I'd  give  a  lot 
to  be  there  to  see  what  happens  when  they  meet 
those  two  fellows.  They  say  it'll  go  hard  with 
'em.  I  shouldn't  like  to  be  in  their  shoes. 
These  Bixtons  are  tough  lads  and  fighters !  If 
they  ever  discover  the  two  who  were  responsible 
for  their  cousin's  predicament — ^v/hew!  there  1i 
be  something  doing." 


CHAPTEE  IX 


UGLY   THREATS 


OGER  and  Jimmy  looked  at  one  anotlier. 
The  face  of  Roger  was  a  bit  serious  as 
Signaler  Anson  shook  his  head  and  re- 
peated : 

*^It'U  go  hard  with  the  fellows,  whoever  they 
are,  v\rho  were  responsible  for  the  Bixtons* 
cousin  going  to  jail." 

"So  you  think  it  wouldn't  be  wise  for  the  two 
lads  who  exposed  Mike  Bixton  to  let  their  iden- 
tity be  known  to  the  two  Bixtons  in  your  signal 
corps,  do  you?"  Jimmy  asked. 

*'I*m  positive  it  wouldn't  be  a  bit  wise,"  de- 
clared Anson.  "But  I  guess  it  won't  ever  be 
known  who  those  two  feUows  were." 

"Oh,  it  might  be,"  replied  Jimmy  easily. 
"No,   sir!"  declared  Anson.     "That   is,  it 
won't  if  it's  up  to  the  fellows  themselves  to 

68 


^ UGLY   THREATS 69 

make  their  identity  known.  They'll  lie  low  if 
they're  wise  and  not  give  themselves  away  to 
these  Bixton  lads.  They're  fighters,  I  tell  you, 
these  two  fellows — and  bad  fighters  at  that." 
**W<;11,  so  are  we!"  exclaimed  Jinmiy,  ajid  in 
such  a  tf^>ne  that  Anson  looked  curiously  at  him, 

aid  askeci* 

^'"Wlid.  do  you  mean?     By  any  chance  are 
you " 

**Yes,  we're  the  two  fellows  who  had  a  hand 
in  putting  Mike  Bixton  where  he  belongs,"  de- 
clared Jimmy.  *' Blaise  is  my  name,  and  this  is 
Eoger  Barlow,"  and  he  nodded  at  hia  chunL 
*'He  and  I,"  he  went  on,  "did  the  most,  I  sup- 
pose, in  finding  out  Mike  Bixton 's  mean  tricks 
and  exposing  him.  Of  course,  others  helped 
us,  but  we  did  the  most.  And  I  am  glad  we  did. 
I'd  do  it  over  again  if  I  had  to!  This  Bixton 
was  one  of  the  meanest  sneaks  that  ever  came 
over  the  pike !  He  tried  to  put  the  blame  for  a 
rotten  trick  on  one  of  our  friends.  But  his 
plan  didn't  work!  Jail  is  too  good  a  place  for 
Mike  Bixton." 

"And  are  you  really  the  fellows  who  put  him 
there?"  asked  Anson. 

"We  two!"  declared  Roger,  backing  up  Ms 
chum. 

"I  wouldn't  have  believed  it!"  confessed  An- 
son. "I  mean  you  look  like  peaceable  chaps," 
he  added. 

"Oh,  we  can  fight  when  we  have  to,"  said 


TO    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


Jimmy,  with  i  laugE.  '*j£nd  anotlier  tHng.  If 
these  two  Bixtons  here  want  to  know  who  it  was 
that  sent  their  cousin  to  jail,  just  refer  them  to 

us.    If " 

At  that  moment  Anson  looked  over  'Ti„^3^2vy's 
head  and  what  he  saw  seemed  to  ast<  ^nish.  Hm. 
Ke  made  a  frantic  sign  to  Jimrnv  /  Bl'^  v'i^j  W^ 
that  lad,  uncomprehending,  went  on  saying: 

"If  these  Bixtons  here  want  to  know  who  sent 
their  cousin  to  jail,  tell  them  Ave  did — Roger 
Barlow  and  Jimmy  Blaise,  both  sergeants  in 
the  509th  Infantry.    Tell  'em  that!" 

**Tou  can  tell  'em  yourself,"  said  Anson, 
with  a  queer  grin  on  his  face.  ''There  the  two 
Bixtons  are,  right  behind  you!" 

Jimmy  wheeled,  to  see  the  two  soldiers  he 
had  noticed  in  the  dugout  confronting  him.  At 
least,  he  was  almost  certain  they  were  the  same 
ones,  though,  as  he  admitted  later,  he  might 
have  been  mistaken.  But  there  was  no  mistak- 
ing the  fact  now  that  the  two  Bixtons  were 
ugly-looking  chaps.  They  scowled  at  Jim- 
my and  Roger,  and  Aleck  advanced  threat- 
eningly. 

"Did  you  say  your  name  was  Blaise?"  he 
asked  Jinuny. 

"Yes,"  was  the  quiet  answer. 

"And  his  name  is  Barlow?" 

"That's  me,"  admitted  Roger  cheerfully. 

"Well,  we  heard  what  you  were  saying  juat 
now  to  Anson,"  went  on  Aleck  Bixton.    "Did 


UGLY  THREATS 71 

you  mean  what  you  said,  or  was  it  just  a  stall? 
Did  you  two  send  our  cousin  Mike  to  jail!" 

''If  your  cousin  was  Mike  Bixton,  of  Camp 
Sterling,  we  certainly  did ! ' '  said  Jimmy  calmly. 

''WerC'i^^^xlt^e — gassed!"  ejaculated  Wilbur 
Bixton.    "Sa>l,  ycu  fellows  certainly  have  your 

nervt^vJA^iV^-n'" 

..rt,.e,  retTLiie  settle  with  these  dubs!"  broke 
in  Aleck,  mth  a  voice  like  the  growl  of  an  angry 
bear.    "I'll  just  tell  'em  where  they  get  off." 

He  strode  forward,  his  fists  clenched,  his 
under  jaw  shot  out,  his  eyes  half  closed.  He 
bore  every  mark  of  the  bully  and  fighter. 
Thrusting  his  face  almost  into  the  countenance 
of  Jimmy  Blaise,  Aleck  Bixton  snarled : 

"Now  look  here,  you  fresh  bloke,  you're  in 
for  a  fine  time!  My  brother  and  I  have  been 
looking  for  a  long  while  to  find  the  fellows  who 
played  Mike  that  dirty  trick.  We  began  to 
think  we  wouldn't  ever  locate  'em ;  but  we  have ! 
You're  the  two,  so  you  say.  Well,  I  want  to 
tell  you  that  you  were  fools  to  give  yourselves 
away,  though  we're  mighty  glad  you  did.  It 
saves  us  a  lot  of  trouble  trying  to  find  you." 

"Then  are  you  glad  you  found  us?"  asked 
Jimmy. 

"You  said  it!  Now  you're  in  for  the  finest 
licking  you  ever  had.  I'm  going  to  give  you 
one,  and  my  brother  '11  give  you  another.  AVe  're 
going  to  beat  you  up  good  and  proper,  and  then 
we'U  write  back  and  tell  Mike  we  met  you.    He 


72    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

p:ave  ns  your  names,  but  we  didn't  know  where 
to  look  for  you.  Now  we've  found  you,  and, 
say,  what  we  won't  do  to  you  won't  be  worth 
making  a  report  on !  Come  on,  Wilbur,  tp.ke  oli 
your  coat  and  start  in  on  tliis  othfy-r  .^'T^^  jwliile  I 
polish  off  this  Blaise.  I'll  blazn'  l,i  ^c^  f'  r 
him!"  J  I     \j 

"Not  here  I"  exclaimed  An«on.  .'i-ou:  ca^i 
fight  here!" 

^'We  can't?  You  juct  watch  me!'*  snapped 
Aleck.    *'I'm  going  to " 

"No  you're  not !"  broke  in  his  brother,  catch- 
ing him  by  the  arm  and  pulling  him  back. 
"We'll  have  to  wait — here  come  the  officers!" 

As  he  spoke  a  group  of  brigade  officers 
passed,  and  the  two  Bixtons,  as  well  as  Jimmy 
and  Roger,  saluted.  The  officers  stood  in  a 
group  not  far  away,  di'^ru'^sing  some  matter. 
Obviously  it  was  not  the  place  for  a  fight.  Even 
Aleck  recognized  that. 

"All  right!"  he  growled.  "This '11  have  to 
wait.  But  don't  get  it  in  your  head  that  we'll 
forget — you  two  I "  he  added.  '  *  I  said  we  'd  beat 
you  up  and  we  will — good  and  proper!  Only 
we'll  have  to  take  another  time.  The  next  time 
we  meet  you  there'll  be  something  doing — don't 
forget  that.  There'll  be  something  doing! 
We'll  nx  you  yet,  Blaise  and  Barlow!" 

"That's  what  we  will!"  chimed  in  Wilbur. 
"We'll  make  you  sorry  you  ever  sent  poor  Mike 
to  jail!" 


UGLY  THREATS  73 


"I  doubt  yonr  last  statement,"  said  Jimmy, 
in  an  easy,  though  low  voice,  for  none  of  the 
disputants  cared  to  have  the  officers  overhear 
theuL  "Mike  deserved  to  go  to  jail,  and  there's 
where  he  is  now,  if  he  hasn't  escaped.  And 
we'll  never  be  sorry  we  had  a  hand  in  sending 
him  there.    It's  where  he  belongs!" 

*'Say,  you — you "  spluttered  Aleck. 

"Cut  it  out — here  comes  our  captain!" 
warned  Wilbur  in  a  low  voice.  "We'll  settle 
with  'em  later ! ' ' 

"That's  what  we  will!"  snapped  out  Aleck, 
as  he  moved  away  w^ith  the  signal  corps.  And, 
as  they  passed  on,  the  two  Bixtons  cast  angry 
looks  at  the  Khaki  Boys. 

But  if  they  imagined  that  these  looks  troubled 
Roger  or  Jimmy,  the  two  who  had  uttered  such 
dreadful  threats  were  utterly  mistaken.  The 
Khaki  Boys  only  smiled,  though  as  Anson,  who 
was  a  middle-aged  man,  marched  on,  he  shook 
his  head  dubiously. 

Jimmy  and  Eoger  stood  for  a  moment  look- 
ing after  the  departing  signal  corps  members. 
The  two  Bixtons  carried  the  black  box,  as  on 
the  occasion  when  Jimmy  had  seen  them  be- 
fore. 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  it?"  asked  Roger 
of  his  chum. 

"I  don't  think  much  of  them!"  exclaimed 
Jinamy. 

"Me  either.     Think  they'll  try  any  rough 


74    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

stuff?  Not  that  I'm  worrying,"  he  went  on. 
"I'm  just  wondering." 

**Well,  they  may  try  to  give  us  a  nasty  turn 
if  they  get  us  alone."  admitted  Jimmy.  "But 
we  '11  take  a  chance.  These  fellows  may  he  what 
Anson  said  they  were — scrappers  and  fighters. 
And  it  may  be  that  they  are  just  bluffs — talk- 
ers, Avind  bags." 

"They  struck  me  a  bit  that  way,"  admitted 
Roger.  "But  say,  you  know  you  spoke  of  their 
being  in  the  dugout  that  time.  Are  you  sure, 
now,  that  they  were  there?" 

' '  Pretty  certain, ' '  admitted  Jimmy.  * '  I  don 't 
know  that  I'm  certain  enough  of  it  to  report 
to  the  captain,  but  in  my  o^vn  mind  I  feel  pretty 
sure.  I'm  going  to  keep  my  eyes  open,  how- 
ever. If  those  fellows  are  up  to  any  underhand 
work  we  '11  find  out  about  it. ' ' 

"I  wouldn't  put  it  past  them  to  try  some- 
thing like  that,"  said  Roger.  "Now  that  we 
know  they're  of  the  same  family  of  Bixtons  as 
the  fellow  at  Camp  Sterling  we  know  what  to 
expect. ' ' 

"You  said  it!"  declared  Jimmy  earnestly. 
"Well,  I  guess  here  comes  our  reply  message. 
We  '11  have  to  hit  the  back  trail. ' ' 

A  little  later  they  were  on  their  way  over  the 
rough  roads  toward  the  trenches  where  their 
company  was  quartered,  waiting  again  for  the 
word  to  go  over  the  top  and  attack  the  Huns. 

As  Roger  and  Jimmy  reached  their  comrades 


UGLY   THREATS  75 


they  saw  Bob  and  Iggy  strolling  along  a  camou- 
flaged road  that  led  to  some  of  the  dugouts  and 
trenches. 

"Any  news  from  Franz?"  asked  Jinuny,  as 
he  slowed  down  the  motorcycle. 

Bob  shook  his  head,  and  Iggy  answered : 

"No,  not  efen  a  letter!" 

"Huh !  Fat  chance  he  has  of  sending  a  letter 
if  he's  in  a  German  prison  camp!"  said  Jimmy, 
a  bit  gloomily.  "I  don't  wish  him  any  bad 
luck,"  he  went  on,  "but  I'd  rather  laiow  he  was 
in  a  camp  than — well  than  som.ewhere  else,  as 
long  as  he  can't  be  with  us,"  he  finished,  and 
his  chums  understood  what  he  meant. 

After  Roger  and  Jimmy  had  delivered  their 
answer  and  had  reported  back  to  their  company, 
which  was  stationed  in  a  fairly  comfortable 
dugout,  they  told  Bob  and  Iggy  of  their  ex- 
perience with  the  two  Bixtons. 

"Say,  Franz  ought  to  meet  them!"  declared 
Bob.  "He  could  tell  them  something  about 
Mike  and  the  ground  glass  and  poison  list  that 
would  change  their  mind  about  the  character  of 
their  sweet  cousin. ' ' 

"I  don't  believe  anyone  could  change  their 
minds,"  affirmed  Jimmy.  "They're  too  mean, 
themselves,  for  that.  Well,  Roger  and  I  are  not 
worrying.  Now  then,  what's  the  news  here 
since  we  went  away?    Any  rumors  of  a  fight?" 

' ' Plenty  of  'em ! "  said  Bob.  "  The  air  is  full 
of  rumors,  and  I  guess  it  will  soon  be  fuU  of 


76    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


bnllets.  We're  going  over  the  top  again  in  the 
morning. '  * 

*' Well,  the  sooner  the  better,"  said  Jimmy. 
And  though  he  spoke  lightly  there  was  an  un- 
dercurrent of  meaning  in  his  words.  Going 
over  the  top  in  the  morning  always  meant  many 
gaps  in  the  ranks  the  following  night.  But  it 
had  to  be  done. 

The  Khaki  Boys  were  sitting  in  their  dugout 
awaiting  their  turn  to  go  on  duty,  a  turn  which 
would  come  soon  after  mess,  when  they  were 
startled  by  hearing  out  in  the  main  trench 
excited  cries  of: 

*'No!  No!  It  can't  be  done!  It's  agin  th' 
regerlations ! " 

And  then,  as  if  in  an  answering  chorus  in  a 
play,  there  sounded  deep  voices,  saying: 

''We  want  pie!    We  want  pie!" 

**0h,  fer  th'  love  of  spoons,  let  me  alone,  will 
you?  Ain't  it  hard  enough  to  give  you  reg'ler 
stuff  without  havin'  you  ask  fer  pie?  Pie! 
"W^iy,  my  great  wash  boiler,  how'm  I  goin'  to 
make  pie ?  It  can't  be  done,  I  tell  you !  It  can't 
be  done!" 

And  again  came  in  solemn  chorus. 

**We  want  pie!    We  want  pie!" 

The  Khaki  Boys  looked  at  one  another  won- 
deringly. 


CHAPTER  S 

DISQUIETING  RUMORS 

""^VTELL,'^  remarked  Jimmy,  as  he  fin- 

W/     ished   the   cleaning   of  his   revolvei 
and  started  toward  the  door  of  the 
dugout,  "if  those  voices  weren't  in  English  I'd 
say  the  Germans  had  put  one  over  on  us  and 
were  raiding  the  trench  for  pie. ' ' 

"Sounds  something  like  that,"  admitted  Bob. 
"What's  it  all  about,  anyhow?" 

"Let's  take  a  look,"  suggested  Roger. 

"And  should  it  be  dat  some  pies  iss  out  there, 
maybe  we  could  of  take  more  as  a  look,"  put  in 
Iggy.    "Maybe  a  bite  we  could  of  took." 

"You  said  something  that  time,  Iggy!" 
laughed  Bob. 

The  four  Brothers  stepped  out  into  the 
trench.  It  was  not  one  of  the  front  line  trenches, 
and  was  not  in  very  great  danger  from  a  Ger- 
man bombardment, 

77 


78    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


What  the  Khaki  Boys  saw  was  a  mnch  per- 
plexed company  cook,  a  tall,  lanky  Western  lad, 
trying  to  stand  off  the  good-natured  verbal 
attacks  of  a  crowd  of  hungry  doughboys  who 
had  just  been  relieved  from  a  rather  long  tour 
in  the  front  trenches. 

*  *  We  want  pie !  We  want  pie ! ' '  they  solemnly 
chanted,  as  though  it  were  a  dirge. 

**An'  by  Gregory  Josephus  I  tell  you  it's 
agin  the  regerlations ! "  declared  Hiram  Miller, 
the  cook.  '^How'm  I  goin'  to  give  you  fellows 
pie,  when  I  ain't  got  so  much  as  a  prune,  now, 
to  make  it  of?  An'  no  flour — ^no  nothin',  in 
fact!  You  an'  your  pie!  If  you  git  canned 
Willie  you  ought  to  be  thankful.  Canned  Willie 
an'  beans  is  all  the  grub  I've  got." 

At  this  mention  of  canned  corned  beef,  gen- 
erally dubbed  ''Willie,"  or  ''Bill,"  there  was  a 
groan  from  the  lads  who  had  just  come  off 
duty. 

*' Beans!"  cried  one.  "I'm  ashamed  to  look 
a  bean  in  the  eye." 

"Beans  don't  have  eyes — you're  thinking  of 
potatoes!"  was  a  retort. 

"Well,  give  us  potatoes  then,  but  not  beans, 
0  Cookie!" 

"Make  it  a  beef  stew  with  plenty  of  gravy!" 
shouted  a  burly  chap. 

"Pie!  Pie!  We  want  pie!"  came  the  grim 
chorus  again. 

"Say,  you  fellers '11  drive  me  crazy!"  stormed 


DISQUIETING  RUMORS 79 

the  cook,  shaking  his  lists  in  the  air.     ''There 
ain't  no  such  animile  as  pie,  gol  ding  it!" 

''Give  ns  pudding  then!"  someone  suggested. 

"Oh  say!  By  Hezekiah  Slifkins!"  cried  the 
cook.  "If  you  fellers  want  puddin'  make  it 
yourselves !    I  'm  through ! ' ' 

Bob  had  a  sudden  inspiration.  As  he  saw  the 
tired,  careworn  faces  of  the  lads  who  had  just 
come  in  from  a  nerve-racking  tour  of  duty,  ex- 
posed to  death  and  danger — faces  which,  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  events,  were  too  young  to 
have  such  strained  looks.  Bob  wished  he  could 
do  something  to  help  relieve  them.  And,  from 
his  o^\Ti  experience,  he  knew  that  food  would 
do  this. 

"And  there  is  food — and  food,"  he  told  him- 
self. 

The  daily  mess  of  the  trench  was  not  very 
elaborate — in  the  nature  of  things  it  could  not 
be.  And  one  of  the  great  cravings  of  the  fight- 
ers was  for  sweets.  That  is  why  there  was  such 
a  lot  of  chocolate  used. 

' '  Pie !  Pie !  We  want  pie ! ' '  came  the  doleful 
chant  again. 

"By  Theophilus  Porkenheimer!"  shouted  the 
cook,  "if  I  hear  that  there  word  agin,  I'll " 

"Say,"  said  Bob,  sliding  up  to  him,  "have 
you  any  bread  or  crackers'?" 

"Yes,  I've  got  lots  of  that,  son.  Fresh  supply 
jest  come  in." 

"Got  any  molasses  and  condensed  milkl" 


80    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


**Yep.  But  say,  that  ain't  pie,  nor  yet  pud- 
din'." 

"Maybe  we  can  turn  it  into  something  like 
it,"  T'ent  on  Bob,  "if  we've  got  any  prunes  in 
tijis  dump " 

"Prunes!  By  Hezekiah  Albatross!"  cried 
the  cook,  "there  ain't  a  prune  nigher'n  ten 
mile!" 

"Yes  there  is!"  asserted  one  of  the  dough- 
boys. ' '  The  supply  company  in  the  next  trench 
has  a  lot  of  'em,  but  they're  short  of  condensed 
milk.    If  we  could  make  a  trade " 

"Go  try  it!"  cried  Bob.  "If— weU,  well 
make  some  prune  slump." 

""Who's  'we,'  an'  what's  *prune  slump'?" 
asked  the  cook.  "Dunne's  I  ever  hearn  tell 
of  it." 

"By  *Ave'  I  mean  Jimmy,  Roger,  Iggy  and  I 
can  make  prune  slump, '^  Avent  on  Bob.  "I  sup- 
pose you'd  call  it  plum  duff  in  the  navy.  But 
you  take  some  prunes,  stew  'em,  make  a  sort  of 
batter  of  crumbled-up  bread  or  crackers,  slap  in 
some  molasses  and  condensed  milk,  and  halve  it 
in  a  pan.  We  used  to  have  it  at  Camp  Sterling. 
'M';mber,  Jimmy"?" 

"I  should  say  so!    Go  to  it,  kiddo!" 

"Here  are  the  prunes!"  cried  a  lad,  coming 
back  with  a  big  bag  full.  "They  were  crazy  to 
trade  'em  for  condensed  milk.  Trot  out  your 
cans.  Cookie." 

'AH    right.     By    Chesapeake   Bay,    maybe 


<( 


DISQUIETING  RUMORS  81 


there  HI  somethin '  come  of  this  after  all !  Prnne 
slump!  I'll  try  to  make  it,  boys,  but  I  ain't 
guaranteein'  nothin'.  'Twon't  be  pie,  but 
mebby  it'll  take  on  a  flavor  of  piiddin'!  I'll 
make  it." 

''Bully  for  you,  Dalton,  old  scoift,  for  think- 
ing of  it,"  said  one  of  the  lads  who  had  de- 
manded pie.  "We're  crazy  for  something  lilie 
that.    It  '11  be  like  a  little  bit  of  home. ' ' 

*'0r  Ireland!"  suggested  a  quiet  looking  lad. 

Then  someone  started  to  sing  a  popular  song. 
They  all  joined  in,  and  the  cook,  with  a  look  of 
relief  on  his  face,  hastened  back  to  the  rude 
shelter  that  served  for  a  kitchen  and  began  to 
prepare  the  prune  slump. 

It  was  a  great  success,  and  the  name  of  Bob 
Dalton  was  long  remembered  among  his  asso- 
ciates who  partook  of  the  concoction,  for  it  was 
just  that,  being,  as  one  lad  remarked,  about  as 
unknown  a  mixture  as  a  beef  stew.  But  it  was 
good.    They  all  voted  that. 

It  was  dark  when  Jimmy,  Roger,  Bob  and 
Iggy  went  on  duty  up  to  one  of  the  front 
trenches.  They  were  on  a  sector  where  activity 
might  break  out  at  any  moment,  and  there  was 
need  for  great  alertness. 

Jimmy  and  Roger,  assigned  to  one  platoon, 
were  to  take  turns  doing  sentry  duty  in  one 
traverse,  while  Iggy  and  Bob  were  sent  to  an- 
other near  by. 

Jimmy  took  his  place  on  the  fire  step,  and 


82    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

there  he  would  stand  until  relieved,  never  tak- 
ing his  eyes  from  that  grim  stretch  of  dark 
earth  in  front  of  him,  called  ' '  No  Man 's  Land. ' ' 
Qii  the  other  side  of  it  were  the  German 
trenches,  and  from  them,  at  any  moment,  might 
issne  the  Boche  fighters  in  a  raid. 

Roger  crouched  as  comfortably  as  he  could  at 
Jimmy's  feet,  ready  to  transmit  to  the  plafoon 
officer  any  information  which  Jimmy  might 
whisper  to  him,  loud  talking  being  forbidden. 

The  night,  however,  seemed  destined  to  be 
quiet.  Up  and  down,  to  Jimmy's  right  and  left, 
stretched  the  narrow  strip  of  No  Man's  Land. 
Directly  in  front  of  the  American  trenches  was 
barbed  wire,  fantastically  tangled  on  posts  lean- 
ing every  which  way.  In  front  of  the  German 
trenches  was  more  wire,  similarly  twisted.  This 
wire  was  to  stop  a  sudden  rush  in  either  direc- 
tion. 

In  the  silence  and  darkness  of  the  night  the 
Khaki  Boys  kept  watch  and  ward  to  guard 
against  surprise.  Doubtless,  the  same  watch 
was  kept  on  the  German  side. 

Soon  after  going  on  duty  Jimmy  felt  a  fine 
drizzle  of  rain  in  his  face.  The  fact  was  un- 
pleasantly borne  to  the  knowledge  of  the  others, 
and  there  was  whispered  grumbling.  But  it  had 
to  be  endured,  and  it  was  fortunate  that  the  lads 
had  on  their  trench  coats. 

' '  Pleasant — not ! ' '  said  Roger  in  a  low  voice, 
as  he  sprawled  in  the  mud  at  Jimmy's  feet. 


DISQUIETING  RUMORS  83 

''Oil,  it  migM  be  worse.  I'm  wondering  what 
poor  Schnitz  is  doing  now. ' '  Jimmy  never  took 
Ms  eyes  off  No  Man's  Land. 

"That's  so,"  went  on  Roger.  "I  wish  we 
knew.    Oh ! "  he  suddenly  exclaimed. 

"What's  the  matter?  See  something?"  asked 
Jimmy  quickly,  but  not  turning  his  head  to  ob- 
serve the  shadowy  form  of  his  chum. 

"No.  But  I  felt  something !  Rat  as  big  as  a 
fox  terrier.  Ugh!  he  nipped  me  on  the  shoe. 
Dirty  brute ! ' ' 

"Part  of  the  gay  and  festive  life  we  live," 
murmured  Jimmy.  "Well,  it  can't  last  forever, 
that's  one  consolation." 

Then  he  became  silent — he  and  Roger.  They 
waited  in  the  trench  for  something  to  happen. 
And  it  did  happen,  but  not  in  their  immediate 
neighborhood. 

For  suddenly,  about  half  a  mile  down  the 
trench  to  Jimmy's  left,  there  was  a  brilliant 
burst  of  fire,  and  a  moment  later  the  sound  of 
sharp  firing  from  the  German  trenches  was 
borne  to  the  ears  of  the  Khaki  Boys. 

Instantly  the  traverses  on  both  sides,  and  far 
up  and  down  the  line,  were  in  tense  activity. 
The  waiting  Sammies  sprang  to  the  firing  step 
alongside  of  Roger  and  Jimmy,  and,  doubtless, 
in  the  German  trenches  the  same  scenes  were 
taking  place.  The  din  was  terrific,  even  though, 
so  early  in  the  conflict,  the  artillery  had  not  yet 
eome  into  play. 


84    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

But  presently  the  big  guns  began  to  boom, 
and  then  it  became  evident  that  the  attack  of 
the  Germans,  for  such  it  turned  out  to  be,  was 
?igainst  a  sector  some  distance  removed  from 
where  the  Khaki  Boys  were  on  duty.  They, 
with  their  companions,  were  held  in  reserve. 
They  remained  to  guard  the  trench.  After  the 
exchange  of  a  few  shots  with  their  unseen  Hun 
adversaries,  quiet  once  more  settled  down  over 
that  part  of  the  lines.  But  a  sharp  engagement 
was  going  on  to  the  left,  and  the  next  morning 
it  was  learned  that  the  Boches  had  cjiptured  a 
number  of  Americans,  having  surprised  them. 
It  was  not  all  clear  gain,  however,  for  several 
of  the  Huns  were  killed. 

And  when  Jimmy  and  his  chums  went  off  duty 
they  heard  disquieting  rumors  to  the  effect  that 
the  Germans  must  have  had  information  about 
the  weakness  of  the  line  that  they  attacked. 
For  it  was  weak,  and  that  was  the  reason  the 
raid  was  so  successfully  made. 

**How  did  the  Germans  know  itf  asked 
Roger. 

*' Someone  on  our  side  gave  the  information," 
said  Jimmy.    *  *  At  least,  that 's  what  I  heard.  * ' 

**You  mean  traitors?"  gasped  Bob. 

**It  amounts  to  that — yes,"  was  Jimmy's 
reply. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  SIGNALS 

"^AY,   where 'd   you   hear   all   this?"   de- 

^%  manded  Roger.    *'Is  it  straight  goods?" 

^^  "Sure  it  is,"  answered  Jimmy.  Talk 
of  it  all  over.  I  got  it  from  one  of  the  orderlies 
at  brigade  headquarters." 

**Just  what  was  it?"  Boh  asked. 

"Iss  der  German  brutes  by  us  goin'  to  come 
again?"  asked  Iggy. 

'*If  they  do  I  hope  they  don't  find  us  as  un- 
prepared as  the  bunch  was  last  night,"  re- 
marked Jimmy,  gloomily  enough.  *'It  was  a 
bad  piece  of  business.  But  it  wouldn't  have 
happened  if  the  Huns  hadn't  laiown  some  of  the 
reserves  had  been  pulled  away  from  that 
sector." 

"Were  they?"  was  Bob's  question. 

"Yes,"  answered  Jimmy,  who  had  acquired 
considerable  of  this   disquieting  information. 

8s 


86    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

*'Our  side  was  planning  a  big  raid,  but  not  ia 
this  immediate  neighborhood.  On  that  account 
the  headquarters  staff  sent  for  some  of  our  re- 
serves. They  were  taken  off  quietly  enough, 
and  it  was  thought  the  Germans  wouldn't  get 
wise  to  the  fact.  But  they  did,  and  they  took 
a  jump  over,  and  got  away  with  it,  worse 
luck!" 

*'And  you  saj'"  it  was  because  of  treachery  on 
the  part  of  someone  on  our  side?"  asked  Roger. 

*' That's  the  story,"  admitted  his  chum. 
"You'll  hear  the  talk  as  soon  as  you  circulate 
around  a  bit.  It's  a  rotten  shame,  that's  what 
it  is!" 

"But  how  did  anyone  from  our  side  get  over 
to  the  German  lines  without  being  shot— unless 
he  took  the  part  of  a  spy  and  put  on  a  German 
uniform?"  asked  Bob. 

''They  didn't  go  over — they  sent  signals," 
went  on  Jimmy.  "And  those  signals  are  what 
gave  away  the  weak  spot  in  our  lines." 

"Signals!"  exclaimed  his  chums.  "What 
kind?" 

"Different  kinds,"  replied  the  young  ser- 
geant. "Last  night  there  were  light  signals, 
but,  of  course,  signals  could  be  sent  by  day 
also,  using  smoke  balls.  You  know  we  have  a 
new  machine  for  that." 

' '  I  didn  't  know  it, ' '  admitted  Roger.  * '  What 
is  it?" 

"Well,  I  saw  one  up  at  the  signal  corps  head- 


THE  SIGNALS  87 


quarters  the  other  day.  It  looked  like  a  big 
soup  kettle  with  a  stove  pipe  sticking  out  the 
top,  and  there  were  levers  on  the  sides.  I  asked 
one  of  the  fellows  how  it  worked,  and  he  showed 
me. 

"Of  course  it's  easy  enough  to  make  different 
colored  fire  signals  at  night,"  w^ent  on  Jimmy. 
"You've  all  seen  them,  even  on  Fourth  of  July. 
But  it  isn't  so  easy  to  signal  by  smoke  in  the 
daytime — or,  rather,  it  wasn't  until  this  ma- 
chine was  invented.  Befor6  that  they  could 
send  up  puffs  of  white  or  dark  smoke,  just  as 
the  Indians  used  to  signal  from  one  mountain 
top  to  the  other. 

"But  one  of  the  signal  corps  men  invented 
this  'smoke  kettle,'  as  I'll  call  it.  The  smoke 
clouds  can  be  made  of  almost  any  color — red, 
green  or  yellow.  And  there  are  white  ones,  too. 
It's  all  done  by  chemicals.  When  you  pull  one 
lever  it  sends  a  certain  mixture  of  chemicals 
into  the  caldron.  They  form  a  ball  of  dense, 
colored  smoke.  A  puff  of  compressed  air  sends 
the  ball  out  up  through  the  'stove  pipe,'  as  I'll 
call  it,  and  it  sails  up  into  the  air,  keeping  its 
round  shape,  like  a  cloud. 

"I  suppose  they  have  some  code,  or  combina- 
tion, by  which  a  certain  number  of  smoke  balls 
of  a  stated  color  sent  up  at  definite  intervals 
mean  something  to  the  man  who  sees  'em." 

"Did  the  traitors  send  up  signals  that  way!" 
asked  Bob. 


88    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

*'I'm  not  certain  of  that.  All  I  know  is  that 
the  smoke  balls  by  day  and  the  colored  fires  by 
night  are  the  means  used  by  the  regular  signal 
corps.  Whether  the  traitors  took  a  leaf  from 
their  book,  or  stole  one  of  the  caldron  ma- 
chines and  nsed  it,  I  don't  know.  But  it  gave 
our  weakness  away  all  right,  and  we  got  in 
Dutch." 

** Rotten  work!"  exclaimed  Roger,  and  the 
others  agreed  with  him. 

**Dose  craters  should  of  be  put  in  do  smoke 
ball  and  dropped  by  a  bomb  yet!"  declared 

iggy. 

"That's  right,  old  scout!"  exclaimed  Jimmy. 
"Only  don't  call  'em  'craters,'  Iggy,  lad. 
You're  thinking  of  a  shell-hole.  *  Traitors'  is 
the  word,"  and  he  spelled  it. 

"I  of  thankfulness  to  you  am,"  said  Iggy. 
"English,  she  is  of  mos'  queer  talk  to  learn, 
but  I  will  on  keep." 

"Only  way  to  do!"  said  Jimmy. 

The  information  he  had  given  his  chnms  they 
soon  verified  by  hearing  the  talk  in  and  out  of 
the  trenches  of  the  disaster  of  the  pre^'ious 
night.  That  the  American  plans  had  been  be- 
trayed by  someone  withm  the  Allied  lines  was 
evident.  In  no  other  way  could  the  Germ^ins 
have  known  that  the  supporting  reserves  had 
been  mthdraA\Ti.  And  because  of  the  demorali- 
zation caused  by  the  success  of  the  German  raid 
it  was  impossible,  for  the  time  bein^^,  to  go  on 


THE  SIGNALS  89 


with  the  plans  of  using  the  massed  reserves,  as 
had  been  hoped. 

That  afternoon,  following  mess,  when  Roger 
and  Bob  were  on  their  way  to  the  rear  with  a 
message  to  headquarters  they  met  Captain 
Dickerson.  He  was  in  company?"  with  other 
officers  attached  to  the  secret  service,  and  as 
the  captain,  who  had  once  been  suspected  by 
the  boys  of  being  a  spy,  passed  them  he  ac- 
knowledged their  salute  and  paused  to  speak  to 
them. 

**I  was  wondering  if  we  had  any  trace  of 
them,  sir?"  said  Bob,  suggestively. 

"Trace  of  whom?"  inquired  the  captain  with 
a  good-natured  smile. 

*'The  fellows  who  sent  signals  from  our  lines 
and  brought  on  the  raid  last  night,"  said 
Roger. 

"Oh,  so  youVe  heard  that  story,  too?"  asked 
the  captain. 

"Isn't  it  true?" 

"Well,  I'm  not  going  to  deny  or  affirm  it,'* 
said  Captain  Dickerson,  with  a  half  smile.  "But 
you  boys  seem  to  have  luck  in  digging  up  mys- 
terious matters,  so  if  you  hear  of  any  bunch  of 
fellows  acting  in  a  queer  way  or  having  certain 
chemicals  in  their  possession  you  might  let  me 
know. ' ' 

"We  will,  sir!"  promised  Bob,  and  Roger 
nodded  his  assent. 

"I'll  say  this  much,"  went  on  the  captain. 


90    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

"The  secret  service  department  is  working  hard 
to  locate  the  place  where  the  signals  came  from, 
and  trying  to  discover  who  sent  them — if  any 
were  sent."  The  secret  service  official  added 
this  in  order  to  be  in  conformity  with  his  former 
statement  of  not  admitting  anything. 

"We'll  be  on  the  watch  as  best  we  can,** 
promised  Roger. 

Captain  Dickerson  walked  on  with  other 
officers  from  the  secret  service  department  of 
the  army,  and  Bob  and  Roger  regarded  each 
other  with  serious  eyes. 

"There's  more  to  this  than  appears,"  de- 
clared Roger. 

"I  believe  yon,"  agreed  his  ehnm. 

And  in  the  days  that  followed  they  learned 
this  more  fully.  For  the  location  of  a  number 
of  American  batteries  and  machine  gun  nests 
was,  in  some  manner,  disclosed  to  the  enemy. 
In  consequence  there  was  a  shelling  of  these 
spots  by  the  Germans,  and  considerable  damage 
was  done. 

In  one  instance  a  battery  had  been  carefully 
planted  in  a  certain  place  and  carefully  camou- 
flaged. It  was  hoped,  after  all  the  guns  were  in 
place,  to  open  up  a  fusillade  on  a  strong  German 
position  and  carry  it.  This  would  have  removed 
a  menace  from  the  American  lines — a  sort  of 
small  angle  from  which  a  raking  fire  was  often 
sent. 

But  the  night  before  the  battery  was  to  have 


THE  SIGNALS  91 


opened  it  was  almost  completely  destroyed  by 
German  shell  fire.  And  the  shells  came  with 
such  accuracy,  falling  through  the  Ci.  ViOuflaged 
screen,  that  it  could  not  be  doubted  t-ie  exact 
location  of  the  cannon  was  known  to  t!  o  Huns. 

"But  if  the  signals  can  be  seen  by  the  Ger- 
mans, why  can't  they  be  seen  by  our  men?" 
asked  Roger.  "And  if  they  are  seen,  the  loca- 
tion ought  to  be  easy  to  come  at." 

"I  don't  kno'>v  wlipt  the  reason  is,"  replied 
Jimmy,  "but  I  know  they  haven't  discovered 
the  traitors  as  yet.  It's  getting  serious,  let  me 
tell  you!" 

"I  should  say  so!"  agreed  Bob. 

It  was  about  a  week  after  the  discovery  that 
secret  signals  Avere  aiding  the  Germans  that 
Jinuny,  coming  back  from  a  visit  to  the  hospital 
where  he  had  called  to  see  a  wounded  chum, 
startled  his  friends  by  saying: 

"I've  heard  from  Franz!" 

"No!"  cried  Bob  incredulously. 

"Yes,"  asserted  Jiiumy  emphatically. 
"Listen  while  I  tell  you!" 


CHAPTER  Xn 


NEWS  FROM  THE  AIR 


"N 


OW  don't  get  all  worked  np  with  hope,'* 
went  on  Jimmy,  as  his  chums  gath- 
ered about  him.  "While  I  have  news 
from  poor  old  Schnitz,  it  isn't  exactly  good 
news. " 

"Is  it  bad?"  demanded  Bob. 
"Is  he  deaded  alretty  yet!"  came  from  Iggy. 
"No.  And  I'm  glad  I  can  say  that  much," 
replied  Jimmy.  "He  isn't  dead,  but  he's  in  a 
German  prison.  You  know  we've  sort  of  hoped 
that  ever  since  he  was  missing.  Rather  have 
liim  there  than  dead  or  badly  wounded,  you 
know. ' ' 

"Wlio  told  you  he  was  in  a  prison  camp?" 
asked  Roger. 

"One  of  the  wounded  boys  in  the  hospital. 
You  know  I  went  to  see  Boswick,  who  used  to 
be  our  top  sergeant.    Well,  next  to  him  was  a 

92 


NEWS  FROM  THE  AIR  98 


fellow  who  was  hurt  on  the  head  and  w^io's 
been  out  of  his  mind  since  then.  Day  beiore 
yesterday  he  got  his  senses  back  again,  r.nd 
to-day  he  was  quite  v.  lot  improved.  He  heard 
me  telling  Boswick  that  Franz  was  miss'iig,  and 
this  fellow,  whose  name  is  Waydell,  told  me 
about  Franz. 

''It  seems  he  was  not  very  far  av/ay  from  old 
Schnitz  when  the  thing  happened.  He  saw 
Schnitz  take  some  German  prisoners  from  a 
machine  gun  nest  and  start  to  march  them  to 
the  rear.  Then  this  fellow  saw  cur  friend,  who 
must  have  been  tickled  to  death  with  his  fent — 
He  saw  Schnitz  run  into  a  bunch  cf  Hms. 
They  took  Schnitz 's  prisoners  away  from  'lim, 
though  he  did  some  damage  before  they  had 
things  their  o-^^m  Avay.  And  then  they  just  nat- 
urally copped  Schnitz  and  hustled  him  off. ' ' 

"Well,  why  in  the  world  didn't  this  Waydell 
help  Schnitz  out?"  demanded  Bob. 

*'He  had  the  wound  that  put  him  out  of  busi- 
ness and  later  sent  him  to  dreamland  for  a  long 
time.  But  I'm  glad  he  came  to.  It  gives  us 
definite  information  about  Franz,  and  that's 
what  we  want. ' ' 

"We  want  him  back,  too!"  exclaimed  Eoger. 

"Oh,  of  course,"  agreed  Jimmy.  "But  it's 
something  to  Imow  where  he  is. ' ' 

"We  don't — that  is,  we  don't  know  exactly," 
remarked  Bob. 

"No,  only  that  he's  in  some  German  camp. 


9^    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


But  there's  always  a  chance  that  he  may  get 
oat/'  went  on  Jimmy.    "We'll  hope  for  that." 

Ii^f^y  gave  a  heavy  sigh. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Roger. 

"I  so  sorry  am  for  Fr  'nz,"  was  the  answer. 
"Besser  as  I  was  a  prisoner  myself  than  him." 

"Why?"  Jimmy  queried. 

"  'Cause  he  iss  of  a  Germans  like.  Hims 
name  is  Germans,  and  once  anudder  time,  when 
he  wass  a  prison  camp  in  good  treatment  he 
got  not." 

"I  should  say  he  didn't!"  declared  Roger. 

"Well,  den  I  am  'fraid  like  he  will  of  the 
sam9  treatment  gets  now,"  proceeded  Iggy. 
"Miiybe  he  will  not  of  stand  it." 

Tjiere  was  silence  for  a  moment,  and  then 
Jimray  said  softly: 

"Well,  we  can  only  hope  for  the  best." 

The  four  Khaki  Boys  discussed  over  again 
the  news  Jinuny  had  brought  from  the  hospital. 
Gloomy  as  it  was  in  itself,  it  was  more  cheering 
than  no  news  at  all,  and  for  many  days  they  had 
had  none  to  indicate  what  might  have  been  the 
fate  of  their  missing  chum. 

"We  may  be  able  to  find  out  what  prison 
camp  he's  in,"  suggested  Roger. 

"What  good  would  that  do?"  questioned  Bob. 

"Well,  we  might  raid  it  and  set  him  free,  as 
well  as  any  other  poor  boys  of  ours  and  the 
Allies  that  are  held  there. ' ' 

"Fat  chance!"  murmured  Jinuny. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  AIR 95 

"It  could  be  done  mth  aeroplanes,  if  we  could 
get  enough,"  declared  Roger.  ''The  next  time 
I  see  the  Twinkle  Twins  I'm  going  to  ask  them 
to  keep  a  lookout  for  Franz  at  any  of  the  Ger- 
man prison  camps  over  which  they  fly." 

''Your  intentions  are  good,  but  it's  a  hopeless 
case  that  way, ' '  sighed  Jimmy,  and,  after  think- 
ing it  over,  Roger  said  he  thought  he  would 
have  to  agree  to  this.  But  still  he  kept  on 
hoping,  as  did  his  chums,  that  some  means 
would  be  found  to  rescue  Franz. 

"If  he  can  stand  the  life  long  enough,  well 
fight  our  way  through  Germany  and  raze  every 
one  of  their  horrible  prison  camps!"  exclaimed 
Bob  hotly. 

"May  that  day  come  soon,"  murmured 
Roger. 

And  slowly,  but  surely,  that  day  was  coming. 
Hour  by  hour,  almost,  the  great  army  of  Ameri- 
cans was  growing  in  France.  Inch  by  inch  the 
detested  Huns  were  being  pushed  back,  fighting 
stubbornly  at  every  step.  Skirmishes  and 
small  battles  were  frequent,  and  trench  raids 
took  place  on  both  sides  nearly  every  night. 

It  was  one  nasty,  rainy  night  about  a  week 
after  Jimmy  had  received  the  news  that  Franz 
was  a  prisoner  that,  as  the  four  Khaki  Boys 
were  on  duty  in  a  firing  trench,  word  was  passed 
along  to  be  more  than  usually  on  the  alert. 

"Why?  Are  we  going  to  attack?"  asked  Bob 
of  the  platoon  oflScer. 


06    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

"We  may,  if  things  turn  out  a  certain  way,'* 
was  the  answer.  "We  have  made  certain  plana 
which  will  be  disclosed  in  due  time.  Just  be 
on  the  alert. ' ' 

And,  taking  their  turns  at  being  "observation 
sentinels,"  Jimmy  and  his  chums  strained  their 
eyes  as  they  looked  across  dark  and  rainy  No 
Man 's  Land  for  the  first  sign  of  any  activity  on 
the  part  of  the  Germans. 

There  ws  a  tense  feeling  in  the  air,  as  though 
something  portended,  and  this  feeling  had  a 
basis  in  fact,  for  shortly  before  da^\^l  the  Ger- 
man batteries  suddenly  opened  fire  on  the  line 
of  trenches  held  by  Jimmy,  his  chums,  and 
others  of  the  509th. 

"Are  v/e  going  over  the  top?"  cried  Bob,  as, 
by  the  distant  flashes  of  fire  from  the  German 
guns,  he  saw  their  platoon  officer.  It  was  safe 
to  talk,  or  even  shout,  now,  for  there  was  no 
danger  of  giving  an  alarm  to  the  Huns.  "Are 
we  going  over  the  top  ? ' ' 

"Not  in  the  face  of  that  fire,  at  all  events," 
was  the  grim  answer.  "The  Boches  have 
started  the  ball  in  earnest. " 

Every  second  the  blasts  from  the  German 
guns  increased  in  intensity,  and  their  effect  was 
felt  in  the  trench  that  sheltered  the  Khaki  Boys. 

"A¥hat's  the  matter  with  our  artillery?" 
cried  Jimmy.  "TiTiy  don't  they  give  Fritz 
some  of  his  own  medicine?"  • 

And,  as  if  in  answer,  a  moment  later  came  a 


J^EV/S  FROM   THE  AIR  97 


thunderous  response  from  the  American  lines. 

* '  There  they  go ! "  cried  Roger.  '' '  Now  things 
will  even  up." 

It  was  an  awful  artillery  duel,  and  there  were 
heavy  casualties  on  both  sides.  While  the  artil- 
lery was  firing  from  either  side  of  No  Man's 
Land  there  v/as  little  the  Sammies  could  do  save 
to  shelter  themselves  as  best  they  could  behind 
the  parados.  These  were  sand  bags,  built  up  at 
intervals  behind  the  parapet.  They  afforded  as 
good  protection  against  high  explosive  shell  fire 
and  shrapnel  as  could  be  obtained  in  trench 
warfare.  And  as  they  were  practically  impene- 
trable by  machine  gun  bullets,  if  a  soldier  could 
get  behind  the  heavy  bags  he  was  comparatively 
safe. 

But  many  of  them  were  burst  apart  or  blown 
away  by  the  missiles  from  the  German  guns, 
and  it  became  necessary,  if  the  boys  in  the 
trench  were  to  have  protection,  to  replace  the 
bags. 

Accordingly  orders  were  given  to  do  this,  and 
details  were  told  off,  some  to  fill  bags  and  others 
to  put  them  in  place.  Eoger  and  Bob  were 
engaged  in  this  last  when  Bob  suddenly  gave  a 
cry  and  caught  his  left  hand  in  his  right. 

'^Hit?"  cried  Roger,  for  there  was  light 
enough,  caused  by  the  flashes  from  many  guns, 
for  him  to  see  Bob  start. 

*' Just  a  scratch,"  was  the  answer. 

It  was  more  than  a  scratch — ^being  a  rather 


98    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

deep  flesh  wound  across  the  back  of  Bob's  hand. 
But  with  the  aid  of  Roger  he  quickly  bound  it 
up  in  a  bandage,  after  applying  an  antiseptic, 
and  then  kept  on  with  the  vital  work  of  making 
the  trench  safer. 

Many  were  wounded  and  many  killed  on  both 
sides  by  that  night  tiring,  and  after  an  hour  of 
bombardment  on  both  sides  there  had  come  no 
order  for  the  Sammies  to  go  over  the  top. 

"Don't  we  get  the  word?"  asked  Jimmy  of 
Bob,  as  they  had  a  moment's  respite  from 
building  up  the  parados. 

*'It  is  queer,"  was  the  answer.  "But  if  we 
have  done  anything  like  the  damage  to  the  Hun 
trenches  that  they  have  done  to  ours,  it  must  be 
a  bad  place  over  there." 

"I  think  we've  paid  'em  back  mth  interest,'* 
declared  Jimmy.  "Our  gun  fire  was  twice  as 
heavy  as  theirs." 

And  so  it  proved,  for  when  da\\Ti  broke,  gray 
and  misty,  it  was  seen  that  the  line  of  German 
sand  bags  had  been  demolished  for  a  long  dis- 
tance up  and  down  the  trench.  And  in  the 
trench  could  be  seen  the  German  soldiers  work- 
ing frantically  to  repair  the  havoc.  It  was 
then  that  the  Sammies  could  take  revenge  with 
rifle  fire,  and  they  did,  in  goodly  measure. 

But  no  word  came  to  go  over  the  top,  and  a 
little  while  after  day  broke  the  firing  died  down 
on  both  sides.  Soon  it  was  comparatively  quiet, 
but  there  were  sad  scenes  to  follow. 


NEWS  FROM  THE  AIR 99 

The  weather  improved  toward  noon,  and  the 
sun  came  out  to  partially  dry  the  muddy 
trenches  and  the  rain-soaked  garments  of  the 
soldiers.  Bob's  wound  was  dressed  by  a  sur- 
geon, and  he  was  told  to  lay  off  duty  for  a  day. 
Jimmy,  too,  had  received  a  slight  wound,  and 
he  had  the  same  orders  as  had  Bob.  So  the 
two  of  them  went  to  the  rear  for  a  little  rest. 

It  was  while  taking  such  ease  as  they  could 
that  they  saw  an  aeroplane  land  near  the  camp 
to  which  they  had  come  to  get  a  little  respite 
from  the  fighting,  and  when  they  saw  two  fig- 
ures leap  from  the  machine,  Bob  and  Jimmy 
exclaimed : 

''The  Twinkle  Twins!" 

It  was  John  and  Gerald  Twinkleton. 

"Well,  where 'd  you  blow  in  from?"  asked 
Jimmy. 

''Had  to  come  doA\Ti  to  get  some  gas,  or 
petrol,  as  they  call  it  over  here,"  explained 
John.  "Been  out  doing  scout  work.  Say,  I 
hear  you  had  a  hot  time  last  night." 

"Sort  of,"  admitted  Bob.  "Fritz  tried  to 
put  one  over  on  us." 

"Yes,  we  heard  about  it,"  went  on  Gerald. 
"And  it  came  near  being  a  bigger  thing  than 
you  fellows  suspect.  Did  you  hear  about  the 
smoke  signals?" 

"Smoke  signals?"  cried  Jimmy.  "Say,  do 
you  mean  that  there  has  been  some  more  of  that 
traitorous  work  going  on?" 


100    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

"It  looks  so,"  said  John.  ''When  we  were 
out  flying  aronnd  yesterday  we  passed  over  a 
little  val!oy.  "We  were  low  enough  down  to 
see  fonr  men  around  a  queer  kind  of  machine. 
At  urst  we  thought  it  was  a  hidden  mortar  bat- 
tery, hut  soon  we  saw  some  green  and  yellow 
puffs  of  smoke  go  up  from  it.  We  reported  the 
matter  to  headquarters,  and  there  was  an  inves- 
tigation right  off,  but  the  four  men  had  disap- 
peared with  their  smoke  apparatus  when  a 
squad  of  our  lads  got  to  the  valley. ' ' 

*'Do  you  say  there  Avere  four  men  around^that 
smoke  signaling  apparatus  1 ' '  asked  Jimmy. 

"Yes,"  answered  Gerald. 

"Could  you  tell  who  they  were?" 

"Well,  no,  not  exactly.  Except  that  two  of 
them  seemed  to  be  men  in  American  uniforms, 
and  tho  other  two  were  civilians." 

"By  Archibald  Montmorency!  as  our  cook 
would  say,"  cried  Jimmy,  "I'll  bet  they're  the 
same  fellows  we  saw  in  the  dugout.  They  are 
the  traitors !  This  is  great  news  you  bring  from 
the  air,  boys!"  he  said  to  the  Twinkle  Twins. 

Wonderingly  the  four  gazed  at  one  another. 


CHAPTER  Xm 


A  FORWAKD  RUSH 


T 


♦"T^HERE'S  a  lot  more  to  this  than  any 
of  US  snspect,  I  guess,"  said  Gerald 
Twinkleton,  with  a  grave  shake  of 
his  head.  "Of  course  when  Jack  and  I  saw 
those  men  sending  up  smoke  signals  we  didn't 
dream,  at  first,  that  anything  was  wrong.  But 
when  we  noticed  the  two  civilians  with  them  we 
guessed  there  must  be  some  queer  deal  on,  and 
we  decided  to  report  matters.  Then  we  learned 
that  this  wasn't  the  first  time  those  signals  had 
gone  up,  and  each  time,  after  they  had  shot  up 
into  the  air,  there  was  an  enemy  attack." 

''Bad  business,"  commented  Jimmy. 

"But  if  those  fellows  are  spies,  including  the 
two  in  uniform,  where  would  they  get  one  of 
our  smoke-making  machines?"  asked  Bob. 

lOI 


102    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

''The  signal  corps  has  a  number  of  them,'* 
explained  Jimmy.  "One  might  easily  be  stolen, 
together  with  the  chemicals  needed." 

"The  signal  corps!"  cried  Eoger.  "And 
those  Bixtons — who  are  off  the  same  piece  of 
goods  as  Mike,  back  at  Camp  Sterling — those 
Bixtons  are  in  the  signal  corps!" 

"That's  what  makes  me  say  there's  more  to 
this  than  appears  on  the  surface,"  commented 
Gerald.  "Now  let's  hear  again  what  it  was 
you  saw  in  the  dugout,  Jimmy  boy." 

Thereupon  Jimmy  related  what  they  had  seen 
as  they  were  making  their  escape  after  the  col- 
lapse of  the  shelter  where  they  had  been  resting. 

"Would  you  say  for  sure  that  the  two  yon 
saw  in  uniform  in  the  dugout  were  the  two 
Bixtons  you  afterward  noticed  in  the  signal 
corps?"  asked  Jack  of  Jimmy. 

"No,  I  couldn't  be  positive,"  was  the  answer. 
"You  see  we  didn't  have  more  than  a  hasty 
glimpse  of  them,  and  then  only  by  the  light  of 
a  candle.  But  from  what  you  Twinkle  Twins 
tell  us,  it's  evident  that  the  same  four — two  in 
uniform  and  two  without — who  were  in  the 
dugout  were  also  sending  up  smoke  signals." 

"Well,  it  looks  that  way,"  admitted  Gerald. 
"Of  course,  there's  always  a  chance  that  things 
may  take  a  different  turn,  but  there's  enough 
here  for  headquarters  to  get  busy  on," 

"The  main  thing  to  do,  in  my  opinion,"  de- 
clared Jimmy,  "is  to  find  out  if  the  fellows  we 


A   FORWARD  RUSH 103 

saw  in  uniform  in  the  dugout  and  the  two  the 
Twinkle  Twins  saw  sending  up  signals  are  the 
same,  and  then  to  learn  if  they're  the  Bixtons." 

' '  That 's  the  idea ! ' '  exclaimed  Bob.  ' '  But  it 's 
easier  said  than  done." 

* 'We'll  help  all  we  can,"  said  the  Twinkleton 
Twins,  as  they  started  off  again  in  their  aero- 
plane, the  tank  having  been  filled  with  gasolene. 

The  secret  service  men  at  headquarters,  in- 
cluding Captain  Frank  Dickerson,  at  once  acted 
after  the  boys  had  given  the  additional  informa- 
tion in  their  possession. 

Jimmy  and  his  chums  had  few  opportunities 
to  learn  what  was  done  by  Captain  Dickerson 
and  his  associates  to  get  on  the  trail  of  the 
smoke  signal  traitors.  All  they  heard  was  that 
an  investigation  was  being  made  and  that  every 
effort  was  being  bent  toward  learning  whether 
or  not  the  Bixtons  were  involved.  It  would  not 
do  to  accuse  these  two  wrongly,  even  though 
they  were  of  a  caliber  not  greatly  desired  in  the 
army.  They  were  entitled  to  be  considered 
innocent  until  proved  guilty,  and  the  private 
quarrel  they  had  with  Jimmy  and  Roger,  be- 
cause of  the  instrumentality  of  the  latter  in 
sending  Mike  Bixton  to  prison,  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  smoke  signal  issue. 

As  for  that  personal  quarrel,  the  threats  the 
Bixtons  had  made  against  Roger  and  Jimmy  did 
not  greatly  worry  the  two.  They  felt  that  they 
could  look  out  for  themselves  even  against  two 


104    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


such  bullies  and  braggarts  as  Vv^ere  Aleck  and 
Wilbur  Bixton. 

Indeed,  there  was  a  time  when  it  seemed  as  if 
the  paths  of  the  two  signal  corps  men  would  not 
again  cross  those  of  Roger  and  Jimmy.  For 
the  two  latter,  with  their  chums,  were  sent  to  a 
distant  sector  where  the  fighting  was  almost 
constant.  And  the  chances  were  much  against 
the  four  Brothers  returning  to  the  lines  where 
the  Bixtons  were  stationed. 

There  was  hard  fighting — so  desperate,  in 
fact,  that  Jimmy  and  his  chums  had  little  chance 
to  thinl?:  about  anything  except  how  to  keep 
from  being  killed  and  how  to  inflict  as  heavy  a 
punishment  as  possible  on  the  enemy.  The 
fighting  was  in  a  w^ooded  country  where  advance 
was  difficult,  for  the  thick  underbrush  afforded 
shelter  for  many  machine  gun  nests,  and  the 
Huns  seemed  to  place  more  dependence  on  this 
style  of  fighting  than  on  any  other  at  this  time 
and  place. 

Day  after  day  the  skirmishes,  all  part  of  one 
great  battle,  waged  in  and  around  the  forest. 
The  country  was  rough  and  hilly,  with  streams 
here  and  there,  some  of  them  large  enough  to 
be  called  rivers  in  the  American  sense,  while 
others  so  dignified  were  but  mere  creeks- 
There  was  not  so  much  of  the  trench  fighting 
here.  The  woods  afforded  almost  as  good  shel- 
ter as  did  holes  dug  in  the  earth,  but  this  was 
not  saying  much.    At  times,  of  course,  it  be- 


A  FORWARD  RUSH 105 

came  necensary  for  the  Khaki  Boys  to  dig  in, 
but  they  did  not  stay  long  enough  in  one  place 
to  make  possible  the  digging  of  elaborate  and 
well-protected  trenches. 

All  sorts  and  styles  of  fighting  went  on  dur- 
ing the  week  that  Jimmy  and  his  friends  were 
in  this  sector.  There  was  the  duel  of  big  guns, 
the  exchange  of  shots  from  mortar  batteries 
that  fired  wicked  bombs;  there  was,  of  course, 
constant  rifle  fire,  and  many  a  man  lost  his  life 
because  of  some  hidden  sniper.  Aeroplanes 
were  constantly  flying  to  and  fro,  the  Huns 
endeavoring  to  locate  ammunition  dumps  or 
transport  trains  in  the  woods,  that  they  might 
blow  up  either  or  both.  And  the  Americans  and 
Allied  planes  sought  to  so  direct  the  advance  of 
their  fighters  as  to  make  it  most  effective. 

There  was  an  advance.  That  fact  was  clear, 
for  the  Americans  were  battling  desperately — 
artillery,  infantry  and  the  ever-gallant  marines. 
Inch  by  inch,  almost,  it  seemed,  the  Huns  were 
being  pushed  back.  But  they  did  not  cease  to 
struggle  and  give  hard  blows  in  return. 

"Look!"  exclaimed  Jimmy  to  Roger  one  day, 
when  a  respite  had  come  after  a  desperate  and 
bloody  conflict.  "There  go  the  signal  men  up 
to  tlie  front.  Must  be  getting  ready  for  an 
advance." 

"Looks  like  it,"  assented  Roger. 

"And  there  are  the  Bixtons!"  added  Bob. 

The  two  brothers,  in  whom  so  much  interest 


106    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

centered  for  the  four  Khald  Boys,  were  hurry- 
ing along  with  their  companions.  And,  as  on 
the  other  occasion,  Aleck  and  Wilbur  Bixton 
carried  the  black  electrical  box. 

''They  didn't  see  us,"  commented  Roger. 
.."Just  as  well,"  said  Jimmy,     "We  don't 
want   any  family  rows   now.     The   one  with 
Fritzie  is  enough." 

Whether  it  was  because  of  some  information 
acquired  by  the  signal  corps  men  or  in  arrange- 
ment with  a  previous  plan  did  not  develop,  but 
soon  after  the  two  Bixtons  and  their  comrades 
had  hastened  up  toward  the  front  lines  the  order 
came  for  a  general  advance. 

And  then  came  a  forward  rush — a  smashing 
through  the  German  lines  as  they  stretched 
through  the  woods.  Strictly  speaking,  there 
was  hardly  a  line,  as  one  thinks  of  it  as  repre- 
sented by  trenches ;  but  there  were  machine  gun 
nests  here  and  there — deadly  nests  they  were, 
too — and  there  were  hiding  places  sheltering 
grim  German  fighters.  Big  guns  there  were — 
blasting  guns  that  wrought  fearful  havoc.  And 
for  each  shot  the  Boches  fired  the  Sammies  sent 
two  in  return,  so  that  slowly  but  surely  they 
advanced. 

.Then  came  a  forward  rush  over  a  nasty  bit  of 
ground.  There  was  a  fusillade  of  rifle  fire,  as 
well  as  a  hail  of  bullets  from  the  machine  guns. 

' '  Come  on !    Come  on ! "  cried  Jimmy. 

"I^m  with  you!"  yelled  Roger. 


A  FORWARD  RUSH  107 


"Seen  Iggy  and  Bob?"  asked  Jimmy,  as  his 
chum  leaped  over  the  dead  body  of  a  German 
to  advance  with  the  sergeant. 

''Yes,  they're  coming.  Look!  There's  a 
party  of  Huns  trying  to  get  that  machine  gun 
to  play  on  us!    Let's  tackle  'em!" 

''Go  ahead!" 

Almost  before  they  knew  it  Jimmy  and  Roger 
had  distanced  their  immediate  companions,  and 
together  they  rushed  on  six  Germans  who  were 
working  over  two  machine  guns.  Two  of  the 
Huns  were  shot  and  another  was  bayoneted. 
The  rest  turned  and  fled. 

"So  far,  so  good!"  cried  Jimmy,  wiping  off 
some  blood  that  was  running  down  his  face. 
"But  what's  happened?  We  seem  to  have  the 
whole  place  to  ourselves." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

UNSEEN    MARKSMBir 

ROGEE  BARLOW,  who  had  so  nobly 
assisted  Jimmy  Blaise  in  wiping  ont  this 
particular  German  machine  gun  nest, 
looked  around  after  the  struggle  and  on  hearing 
his  companion's  remark. 

"What's  that?"  he  asked.  *'We  have  the 
place  to  ourselves?  Well,  why  shouldn't  we 
after  we  got  rid  of  these  fellows?" 

"No,  I  didn't  mean  that  exactly,"  went  on 
Jimmy.  "But  take  a  look !  None  of  our  fellows 
is  anywhere  near  here.  The  fighting  seems  to 
have  been  switched  over  to  our  right." 

Roger,  who  had  almost  as  much  blood  on  him 

as  had  Jimmy,  took  an  observation.    He  soon 

realized  that  what  his  fighting  chum  had  said 

was  true. 

They  were  on  a  little  wooded  knoll,  and  the 

io8 


UNSEEN  MARKSMEN  109 

view  was  so  obstructed  by  stunted  trees  and 
underbrush  that  they  could  not  see  very  far  in 
any  direction.  But  they  had  a  sufficient  view 
to  show  that  there  was  hard  fighting  going  on 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  their  right,  while 
all  about  them  the  place  was  still  and  deserted 
— that  is,  comparatively  still,  for  the  din  of 
battle  was  carried  to  the  Khaki  Boys  where  they 
stood. 

''I  guess  we  rather  overran  our  objective,'* 
observed  Roger,  as  he  gazed  about  for  a  puddle 
of  water  in  which  to  cleanse  himself  of  the 
blood  that  was  not  all  his. 

''If  you  mean  this  machine  gun  nest  was  the 
objective,  we  did, ' '  agreed  Jimmy,  as  he  looked 
at  the  dead  Germans.  '^We  ran  right  over 
them.  But  now  Ave  'd  better  get  back  to  the  rest 
of  our  own  bunch,  or  they'll  be  listing  us  as 
missing  or  deserting." 

' '  Yes,  we  '11  get  back, ' '  assented  Roger.  * ' But 
first  let's  clean  up  a  bit.  There's  a  puddle  of 
Avater  over  by  the  gun. ' ' 

It  was  water,  of  a  sort.  In  northern  Frrvnce 
it  seems  to  rain  most  of  the  time,  or  at  least  it 
did  while  our  boys  were  there.  There  were 
many  shell  holes  over  the  ground,  and  many  of 
them  became  filled  with  and  retained  water  for 
some  time.  The  puddle  Roger  picked  out  was 
half  full  of — ^well,  liquid  would  be  a  better  word 
than  water,  l-.ut  the  army  lads  got  over  being 
fussy  abort  a  thing  like  that. 


110    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

"It's  good  enough  to  wash  in,  but  I'd  hate 
to  drink  it,"  observed  Jimmy,  as  he  began  to 
clean  himsalf. 

"You  said  something!"  came  from  Roger. 
"And  yet  I've  heard  our  boys  say  that  they've 
drunk  worse  stuff  than  this  and  that  it  tasted 
good." 

"Oh,  I  suppose  so,"  agreed  Jimmy.  "But 
I'm  going  to  look  about  a  bit  before  I  take  any 
of  this." 

And  he  was  glad  he  did,  for  some  time  later, 
in  moving  about  in  the  little  glade,  they  found  a 
clear,  sparkling  spring,  and  there  they  drank 
their  fill  and  finished  up  the  "bath"  they  had 
started  at  the  mud  puddle. 

"Well,  I  feel  a  hundred  per  cent,  better," 
declared  Roger.  "And  now  let's  hike  back. 
The  fighting  is  still  going  on,  and  we  don't  want 
to  miss  any  of  it." 

Jimmy  nodded,  and  the  two  Khaki  Boys  be- 
gan to  pick  their  way  through  the  underbrush. 
It  was  rather  rough  going,  for  if  there  had 
ever  been  a  path  it  was  now  obliterated  by  the 
bursting  of  shells  amid  the  trees  when  the  place 
was  under  fire,  as  it  often  had  been. 

Roger  and  Jimmy  were  near  the  edge  of  the 
little  glade  which,  as  has  been  said,  was  on  the 
top  of  a  hill,  when  suddenly,  just  as  they  were 
about  to  cross  an  open  space,  the  vicious  hum 
of  an  unseen  missile  Avas  heard  over  their  heads. 

"Duck!"  yelled  Jimmy,  at  the  same  time 


UNSEEN  MARKSMEN 111 

dropping  flat  and  pulling  his  companion  to  a 
similar  posture. 

Of  course  it  was  too  late  to  have  "ducked" 
for  that  particular  bullet,  as  it  was  over  their 
heads  and  past  them  before  the  boys  fell  prone. 
But,  as  Jimmy  said  afterward,  he  thought  more 
were  coming. 

''What's  the  big  idea?"  asked  Roger,  as  he 
rubbed  his  elbow  that  had  come  in  sharp  con- 
tact with  a  stone  when  Jimmy  dragged  him 
do\^^l. 

''Didn't  you  hear  the  shot?"  demanded 
Jimmy. 

"Yes.  But  the  bullet  you  hear  will  never 
hurt  you.  It's  the  one  you  don't  notice  coming 
that  does  the  trick." 

"That's  all  right,"  asserted  Jimmy  calmly. 
"But  there  may  be  more  coming.  Lie  low  now, 
I'm  going  to  try  a  little  camouflage  v/ork." 

Keeping  prone  on  his  face,  and  seeing  that 
Roger  did  the  same,  Jimmy  cautiously  raised 
his  "tin  haf^'  above  the  earth,  using  a  short 
stick  he  picked  up  as  a  support. 

Almost  instantly  there  came  a  "ping!"  and  a 
little  hole  appeared  in  the  helmet. 

"Firing  at  close  range,"  observed  Jimmy. 

"I  should  say  so!"  exclaimed  Roger.  "And 
those  aren't  stray  bullets,  either.  It  was 
directed  straight  here." 

"Right!"  assented  Jimmy.  "But  the  thing 
of  it  is  to  decide  whether  it's  our  boys  firing  or 


112    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


some  Germans  who  may  have  swept  in  from  the 
left  flank." 

**How  conld  it  he  our  boys?"  asked  Roger. 
"Don't  they  know  we're  here?" 

*'How  could  they?  We  rushed  over  with  a 
hunch  of  our  boys  to  clean  out  this  machine-gun 
nest.  And  we're  the  only  ones  left  alive  to  get 
here,  worse  luck  for  those  who  started  out  with 
us.  So  there 's  not  much  chance  that  any  fellows 
in  our  squad  know  we're  here.  At  the  same 
time,  this  place  was  known  to  be  held  by  the 
Huns,  and  our  boys,  who  don't  know  anything 
about  our  having  taken  the  gun,  may  still  think 
it's  a  machine  gun  nest  and  be  peppering  it 
whenever  anything  alive  shows,  as  my  helmet 
did.  I'm  glad  my  head  wasn't  in  it,"  and 
Jimmy  looked  again  at  the  bullet  hole  in  the 
strong  metal. 

"And  do  you  think  it  could  be  Germans  shoot- 
ing at  us  ? "  Roger  inquired. 

"Of  course  it  could  be  Huns.  A  lot  of  'em 
are  probably  over  to  the  left  of  us  where  there 
isn't  so  much  fighting  going  on.  They  may  have 
seen  us  wipe  out  this  bunch  of  their  friends,  and 
now  they^re  going  to  turn  the  trick  on  us." 

Roger  agreed  that  this  view  of  the  matter  was 
probable.    Then  he  asked : 

"What  are  we  going  to  do  about  it?" 

"Let's  work  our  way  back  to  the  middle  of 
the  bunch  of  trees,"  suggested  Jimmy.  "We'll 
be  somewhat  protected  there,  and  maybe  if  we 


UNSEEN  MARKSMEN 113 

try  to  get  out  in  another  direction  than  the  one 
we  just  attempted,  we'll  have  better  luck. 

^"^ Wiggle  back  now,  but  don't  raise  your  head. 
Can  you  make  it  going  backAvard  ? ' ' 

"It's  harder  to  crawl  backward  on  your 
stomach  than  it  is  to  go  forward  in  the  same 
way,"  said  Roger;  "but  I'll  try." 

He  did  try,  as,  likewise,  did  Jimmy.  But  they 
found  it  almost  impossible  because  of  the  nature 
of  the  ground,  and  Jimmy  called  a  halt. 

"Let's  pivot  around,"  he  suggested,  and  head 
uphill.  It'll  be  easier  crawling  then.  But  keep 
your  head  do\\Ti." 

Almost  as  Jimmy  spoke  there  came  another 
of  the  wicked  hums  of  a  singing  bullet,  and  it 
"pinged"  against  a  tree  not  far  from  the  two 
Khaki  Boys. 

"They  either  see  us  or  they  guess  we're  still 
here,"  said  Jimmy. 

'  *  I  don 't  believe  they  see  us, ' '  stated  his  chum. 
"More  likely  they're  just  taking  a  chance  and 
firing  at  the  location  where  they  last  saw  your 
tin  hat.    We'd  better  hurry  on." 

Fear  and  desperation  urged  the  boys  for- 
ward, and  they  crawled  rapidly,  if  painfully,  up 
the  hill,  in  and  out  of  shell  holes,  over  sticks, 
stones,  and,  in  one  case,  a  dead  body.  But 
eventually  they  reached  the  place  where  the 
machine  gun  had  been  planted.  It  was  there 
still,  with  most  of  the  crew  dead  around  it. 

"Wonder  if  we  could  turn  it  around  and  aim 


114    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

it  at  the  fellows  who  fired  on  us?"  suggested 
Roger. 

He  and  Jimmy  examined  the  gun,  and  though 
they  were  not  familiar  with  this  particular 
German  weapon  their  general  knowledge  told 
them  that  it  was  so  damaged  as  not  to  be  fire- 
ahle. 

''Well,  we'll  have  to  depend  on  what  we 
have,"  said  Jimmy,  as  he  looked  to  his  rifle  and 
revolver.  Fortunately,  he  and  Roger  had  plenty 
of  ammunition.  They  had  with  them  all  their 
possessions,  including  their  emergency  rations. 

"We  can  stay  here  until  dark,  if  we  have  to," 
said  Jimmy.  ' '  But  I  don 't  want  to.  Let 's  make 
another  attempt  at  it  on  the  opposite  side.  But 
keep  low." 

They  got  a  drink  of  water  from  the  spring, 
and  then  lay  down  and  began  to  crawl  out  of  the 
woods.  They  did  not  stand  upright  except  when 
behind  the  thick  shelter  of  trees. 

But  no  sooner  had  they  begun  to  progress 
after  the  manner  of  a  not  very  agile  serpent 
than  there  was  the  sing  of  bullets  over  their 
heads,  and  some  struck  the  ground  near  them. 

"They  see  us!"  cried  Eoger,  and  there  was  a 
catch  in  his  voice. 

"I  don't  believe  they  exactly  see  us,"  re- 
turned Jimmy.  "But  I  think  they  see  the 
bushes  move  as  we  crawl  along,  and  they're 
■firins:  into  the  underbrush." 

**  They '11  get  us  just  as  surely  that  way  as  if 


UNSEEN  MARKSMEN  115 

they  did  see  us,  if  they  keep  on  firing  long 
enough, ' '  went  on  Roger. 

"Yes,  I  suppose  they  will,"  agreed  his  chum. 
"Well,  we've  tried  the  front  and  back  doors 
out  of  this  place.  Now  let's  tackle  one  to  the 
side. ' ' 

"Right  or  left?"  asked  Roger. 

"Right,"  decided  Jimmy.  "That's  Where 
our  boys  wore  fighting,  and  the  Germans  are 
less  likely  to  be  there.  AVe'll  try  the  right. 
But  crawl,  bacdy,  crawl!" 

"Oh,  I'm  going  to,"  declared  Roger. 

They  had  moved  back  when  they  found  thot 
they  were  fired  upon  the  second  time,  and  now 
they  were  in  a  position  to  crawl  down  off  the 
summit  of  the  little  hill,  going  to  the  right. 

Would  they  find  the  way  clear?  That  was  the 
question  Roger  and  Jimmy  asked  themselves, 
and  how  much  depended  on  the  answer  to  it, 
they  well  realized.  The  unseen  marksmen 
seemed  fearfully  alert. 


CHAPTER  XV 


OVER   THE    CLIFF 


«<f  I  lAKE  it  easy  now,"  suggested  Jimmy, 

I       as,  after  a  moment 's  pause,  he  and  his 

chum  began   again  their  crawling  to 

get  down  and  off  the  little  knoll.    "Go  slow!'* 

"You  needn't  tell  me  that!"  complained 
Roger.  "I'm  willing  to  go  as  slow  as  the  next 
one,  only  I  want  to  see  who's  shooting  at  us." 

"They're  not  anxious  to  be  seen,"  came  from 
Jimmy,  as  he  slowly  progressed.  "I've  been 
looking  for  a  chance  to  take  a  shot  myself,  but 
I  haven't  seen  so  much  as  a  finger.  Our  turn  11 
come,  though." 

"It  can't  come  any  too  soon  for  me,"  as- 
serted Roger. 

They  had  not  crawled  more  than  ten  feet  to 
the  right  when  again  came  unmistakable  evi- 
dence that  their  movements  were  watched,  even 
though  they  themselves  might  not  be  observed. 

"Zip!  Just  like  that!"  exclaimed  Jimmy 
ii6 


OVER  THE  CLIFF     117 

with  grim  humor,  as  he  heard  the  singing  of  a 
bullet  over  his  head.  ''A  little  lower,  and  that 
one  would  have  nipped  me. ' ' 

"Shall  we  go  backf"  asked  Koger. 

''No,  let's  keep  on  a  little  farther.  This  is 
our  best  play.  If  we  can 't  get  out  on  this  side 
there  isn't  much  use  of  trying  the  left.  Snipers 
are  almost  sure  to  be  there." 

So  they  crawled  on  for  perhaps  ten  feet,  and 
then  again  they  were  fired  at. 

''No  use!"  exclaimed  Jimmy,  and  there  was 
a  rather  despairing  tone  in  his  voice.  "We've 
got  to  go  back." 

"And  try  the  left?"  asked  Roger. 

"Yes.    It's  our  only  chance.     If  they  fire  at 

us  from  that  side "     He  did  not  complete 

the  sentence,  but  Roger  well  knew  what  his 
chum  meant. 

Back  they  crawled,  being  fired  at  again,  and 
when  they  were  comparatively  safe,  at  least  for 
the  time  being,  in  the  clump  of  trees,  the  two 
Khaki  Boys  looked  at  each  other. 

"They're  German  snipers  all  right,"  de- 
clared Jimmy. 

"Sure  thing,"  asserted  Roger.  "Probably 
the  fellows  that  yelled  'Kameradl'  and  beat  it 
when  we  came  up  toward  their  machine  gun 
have  got  a  lot  more  Boches  and  are  going  to 
try  to  take  us  prisoners." 

That  viev/  of  it  was  also  Jimmy's,  and  he 
said  as  much,  adding,  however : 


118    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

"They  don't  make  a  prisoner  of  me  as  long 
as  I  Ve  got  a  shot  left ! " 

''What  are  you  going  to  do  now?"  asked 
Roger,  as  he  saw  Sergeant  Jimmy  loosen  his 
belt  a  couple  of  holes.  ''Going  to  leave  some  of 
jouT  stuff  here  ? ' ' 

"Indeed  not!"  Jimmy  quickly  answered. 
"We  need  every  thing  we  have  on,  though  it's 
a  load  to  carry.  Can't  take  a  chance  and  leave 
off  even  the  gas  masks.  There's  no  telling 
Avhen  the  Huns  may  take  a  notion  to  drop  a  gas 
shell  in  these  woods,  and  there 's  not  enough 
wind  to  carry  the  fumes  away.  No,  indeed,  we 
can't  take  any  chances.  I'm  just  going  to  make 
myself  a  little  more  comfortable.  It's  hard 
enough  to  carry  all  this  outfit  around  when 
you're  standing  up,  but  it's  worse  when  you're 
crawling.  But  perhaps  a  loose  belt  will  help 
some." 

"  I  '11  try  it,  myself, ' '  returned  Roger.  ' '  Well, 
if  we  don't  get  through  this  time  what  shall  we 
do?"  he  asked. 

Jimmy  did  not  answer  for  a  moment.  He 
seemed  to  be  considering  some  problem,  and, 
indeed,  the  straits  the  two  boys  found  them- 
selves in  was  a  problem  that  might  well  per- 
plex older  warriors. 

"We'll  try  the  left  now,"  went  on  Jimmy, 
after  a  bit.  "It  would  seem  to  be  the  least 
promising  of  all,  but  there's  no  telling.  Come 
on,  if  you're  ready." 


OVER  THE  CLIFF 119 

"I'm  as  ready  as  I  ever  shall  be,"  said  Roger 
grimly.    ''Go  ahead." 

Once  more  they  dropped  prone  and  began  to 
crawl  along.  This  time  they  went  more  can- 
tioTisly,  making  their  way  behind  snch  shelter 
as  was  afforded  by  fallen  trees,  old  stnmps,  and 
clumps  of  bushes.  They  also  were  careful  not 
to  move  the  foliage  about  them  more  than  was 
absolutely  necessary.  For,  in  the  opinion  of 
Sergeant  Jimmy,  it  was  this  movement,  rather 
than  direct  views  of  themselves,  which  enabled 
the  snipers  to  shoot  at  them. 

''Guess  maybe  we'll  make  it  this  time,"  said 
Roger  in  a  low  voice,  as  he  crawled  along  be- 
hind his  chum.  "What  are  you  going  to  do 
when  you  get  to  the  open  place,  Jinuny,  old 
man?" 

"Wait  until  we  get  there,"  advised  Jimmy. 
"But  I  guess  the  only  thing  we  can  do  is  to  run 
for  it,  and  fight  as  we  run.  See  that  bunch  of 
woods  right  ahead  of  us?" 

"I  see  it,"  assented  Roger. 

"Well,  let's  make  for  that,  and  then,  maybe, 
we  can  swing  around  and  get  back  to  our  com- 
pany. We  can't  stay  very  long  in  the  open  with 
all  these  snipers  around  us,  and  that  bunch  of 
trees  is  the  nearest  shelter.  I  don't  know  what 
they  are,  nor  what  they  cover.  They  may  be 
full  of  Huns,  but  we've  got  to  do  something, 
and  we  can't  stay  back  here." 

"I  guess  that's  right,"  said  Roger.    "Keep 


120    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


on  going.  We  haven't  been  fired  at  since  we 
started  on  this  path." 

This  was  trne,  and  the  two  yonng  soldiers  be- 
gan to  have  hopes  that  they  might  get  through. 

'  *  Though  why  it  is  I  can 't  understand, '  *  said 
Jimmy.  *'I  thought  this  section  would  be  full 
of  Huns,  since  we  haven't  done  any  fighting  in 
this  direction  to  drive  'em  back." 

Strange  and  hardly  understandable  as  the 
situation  was,  still  it  remained  as  Eoger  and 
Jimmy  noticed — that  they  were  not  fired  upon 
during  their  painful  progress  to  the  left. 

'* Maybe  they're  saving  it  up  for  a  grand 
bang-up,"  suggested  Eoger,  when  the  twain 
had  made  their  way  perhaps  fifty  feet  farther 
along. 

*' Don't  be  cracking  jokes  at  a  time  like  this !" 
half -growled  Jimmy. 

"It  won't  be  a  joke  if  it  happens,"  snapped 
back  Roger. 

He  and  his  chum  went  on  a  little  farther. 
They  were  getting  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
woods  now,  and  an  open  space  lay  before  them. 
Across  this,  and  it  was  rough  ground  marked 
by  shell-holes,  was  another  bunch  of  trees,  the 
open  place  being  perhaps  five  hundred  feet  in 
width. 

"If  we  cross  that  and  gain  the  woods,  maybe 
we'll  be  safe,  and — maybe  not,"  murmured 
Jimmy.  "Anyhow,  we've  got  to  make  a  try  for 
it,  Rodge.    Are  you  ready?" 


OVER  THE  CLIFF  121 


"Go  ahead!"  was  the  short  answer. 

"All  right — come  on.  Jnmp  up  and  mn  for 
it.  But  don't  stand  upright.  Crouch  as  much 
as  you  can  and  run  zigzag.  And  shoot — if  you 
see  anything  to  shoot  at.    Now  come  on!" 

As  Jimmj''  cried  these  words  he  leaped  to  his 
feet,  an  example  followed  by  Roger.  Then  the 
two  of  them,  crouching  over  and  darting  from 
side  to  side,  ran  into  the  open. 

For  a  few  moments  they,  thought  they  were 
going  to  have  the  way  clear — that  they  would 
not  be  fired  at.  But  this  was  not  to  be.  Half 
way  to  the  woods  both  boys  saw  off  to  their  left 
several  gray-uniformed  figures  leap  up. 

"There  they  are!    Shoot!"  cried  Jimmy. 

He  fired  from  the  hip,  as  did  Roger.  They 
were  both  pretty  good  shots,  and  they  had  prac- 
tised tlus  method,  so  they  knew  what  they  were 
doing.  One  of  the  Germans  toppled  over, 
though  whether  from  the  effect  of  Roger's  fire 
or  Jimmy's  could  not  be  told.  But  the  others 
began  firing  in  return,  and  the  bullets  sang 
about  the  heads  of  the  Khaki  Boys. 

"Come  on!  Run  faster!"  yelled  Jimmy,  as 
he  fired  again. 

"Say,  there's  a  bunch  of  'em!"  cried  Roger, 
as  he  saw  more  Huns  springing  up  as  if  from 
holes  in  the  earth  where  they  had  been  hidden. 

Jimmy  did  not  answer.  He  was  busy  firing 
at  the  enemy,  even  as  he  was  being  shot  at,  and 
he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  two  more  go 


122    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

down.  One  of  these  Eoger  got.  Then  Jimmy 
felt  a  sharp  pain  in  one  ear,  and,  clapping  his 
hand  to  it,  he  saw  his  palm  covered  with  blood. 

''Hurt  much?"  cried  Roger,  as  he  dashed  up 
beside  his  chum. 

"No,  just  a  graze,  I  guess.  But  keep  away 
from  me.  The  two  of  us  together  make  a  big- 
ger target  than  one.    Separate!" 

He  leaped  to  one  side,  and  as  he  did  so  a  bul- 
let passed  between  him  and  Roger.  They  could 
hear  it.  Had  they  stood  together  one  or  both 
of  them  might  have  been  hit. 

On  they  staggered,  firing  as  rapidly  as  they 
could  under  the  circumstances.  They  crouched 
down,  zigzagged  from  side  to  side,  and  hoped 
for  the  best.  They  were  now  within  the  fringe 
of  the  woods,  and  a  few  feet  more  would  bring 
them  within  the  shelter  of  trees. 

But  would  they  find  more  foes  there?  That 
was  the  question. 

Suddenly  there  was  a  loud  explosion,  and, 
glancing  back  for  an  instant,  Roger  and  Jimmy 
saw  that  a  shell  had  torn  a  big  hole  in  the  earth 
at  a  spot  where  the  German  firing  party  had 
been  massed.    There  was  no  firing  party  noM^ 

"Was  that  one  of  our  shells'?"  cried  Roger. 

"Hard  to  say,"  was  Jimmy's  reply.  "It  did 
the  trick  for  us  all  right,  though." 

"If  they  don't  come  any  nearer,"  added 
Roger  grimly. 

Exhausted    and    weary,    they    reached    the 


OVER  THE  CLIFF  123 


woods.  They  dodged  in  among  the  sheltering 
trees,  fearing  any  moment  that  they  would  be 
fired  upon  by  enemies  who  might  be  concepled 
in  the  copse. 

*'I — I'm  about  all  in!"  gasped  Roger. 

"Same  here!"  panted  Jimmy.  ''We've  got 
to  rest  and  get  some  water  after  we  make  sure 
this  place  is  comparatively  safe." 

On  they  staggered.  They  could  hardly 
breathe  now,  so  great  had  been  the  rush  and 
burdened,  as  they  were,  with  equipment.  They 
saw  before  them  a  little  grassy  glade,  and  at 
one  edge  of  it  was  a  spring  of  water.  The  sight 
was  a  welcome  one. 

"Over  there!"  cried  Roger,  pointing  to  it  to 
direct  Jimmy's  attention.  "We'll  flop  down 
there  and " 

Roger's  Avords  ended  in  a  mumble.  Jimmy, 
thinking  his  companion  had  been  shot,  turned 
quickly  in  time  to  see  a  man  standing  behind 
Roger  with  an  upraised  club.  He  had  struck 
Roger  on  the  head,  knocking  him  doAvn. 

Jimmy  opened  his  mouth  to  utter  a  yell, 
though  why  he  could  hardly  have  told,  and  he 
w^as  about  to  bring  his  rifle  to  bear  on  the  as- 
sailant of  his  chum  when  Jimmy  himself  felt  a 
stunning  blow  on  his  head  just  beneath  his  steel 
helmet.  He  went  down  limply,  his  eyes  seeing 
nothing  but  blackness. 

And  as  the  tw^o  lads  were  struck  down,  their 
two  assailants,  who  had  leaped  from  behind  con- 


124.    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


cealing  trees  to  take  advantage  of  the  panting, 
exhausted  Khaki  Boys,  looked  at  one  another 
with  Batisfaction. 

**Now  we've  got  'em!"  cried  one. 

**I  should  say  so!"  declared  the  other. 
.*'This'll  end  their  tricks!  Now,  what '11  we  do 
with  'em?" 

'*Hanl  'em  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill  and  dump 
'em  over  the  cliff  into  the  river.  That'll  get 
'em  out  of  the  way  and  it  won't  be  awkward 
for  us.  Come  on,  you  drag  one  and  I'll  tackle 
the  other!" 

And  suiting  their  action  to  these  words,  the 
two  assailants  hauled  Roger  and  Jimmy  to  the 
edge  of  a  cliff  not  far  from  where  the  two  chums 
had  been  struck  down.  A  moment  later  two 
limp  bodies  were  pushed  over  the  edge  and 
there  were  two  splashes  in  the  foaming  river 
that  was  studded  by  cruel  rocks. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

OWLY   TWO   LEFT 

**W  7 HEW,  that  was  some  fight!'* 

Y^        "I  say  de  same  by  you,  Bobby!" 
"  It  was  Iggy  who  made  the  last  re- 

mark and  Bob  Dalton  who  spoke  first.  They 
had  swept  on  vnth  their  companions  in  arms, 
crashing  their  Avay  through  the  German  lines, 
and  now  the  order  had  come  to  cease  firing.  It 
wonld  not  do  for  too  large  a  number  of  the 
cheering,  victorious  Americans  to  get  beyond 
the  protection  of  their  big  guns,  and  this  was 
likelj''  if  they  rushed  on  much  farther. 

*'Got  any  water  in  your  can,  Iggy!"  went  on 
Bob,  as  they  sat,  or  rather,  "flopped,"  do^vn 
on  the  ground,  exhausted,  as  were  their  com- 
rades. **If  you  haven't  any,  I  have  some  I'll 
share  with  you. ' ' 
"I  have  some  quiteness  of  vodah — I  mean 

125 


126    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


b 


wat-ter — left,"  said  Iggy.     "IJnd  jolly  nmch 
goot  will  she  taste  now. ' ' 

^'You  said  soniething,  pal!"  declared  a 
wounded  soldier  near  by.  "Some  Fritzie  put 
a  slug  through  my  canteen,  and  there  isn't  a 
drop  in  it,  and  I'm  as  dry  as  a  boneless  her- 


ring, ' ' 

"Here!"  cried  Bob,  instantly  offering  his 
w^ater  flask.  "Take  as  much  as  you  want.  I 
can  get  more." 

"Don't  be  too  positive  of  that,  buddy,"  said 
the  wounded  man.  "But  I  certainly  do  appre- 
ciate a  swallow  of  this.  Guess  I'm  booked  to 
go  back,"  he  said,  as  he  looked  at  his  mangled 
hand.  Poor  fellow!  He  never  was  to  use  it 
again. 

The  scenes  all  about  Bob  and  Iggy  were  too 
filled  with  horror  to  bear  repeating.  Though 
the  Americans  had  swept  on  victorious,  driving 
the  Huns  before  them  and  out  of  their  trenches, 
yet  it  was  at  a  price.  Perhaps,  from  a  military 
standpoint,  not  too  heavy  a  price  to  pay  for 
victory,  but  still  a  price. 

There  were  dead,  dying,  and  wounded  men 
all  about,  and  more  back  where  the  German  re- 
sistance had  been  strongest.  Bob  and  Iggy  had 
come  through  the  ordeal  with  nothing  more 
than  slight  flesh  "wounds.  They  w^ere  suffi- 
ciently painful,  but  not  serious  enough  to  send 
them  to  the  hospital.  Iggy  had  been  scratched 
on  the  arm  by  a  ragged  bit  of  shrapnel  shell, 


ONLY  TWO  LEFT 127 

and  Bob  had  received  a  cut  on  the  forehead  by 
some  flying  missile. 

And  now  came  the  blessed  relief  from  the 
toil  and  the  strnggle,  from  the  sweat  and  the 
blood  of  the  battle. 

"Cease  firing!"  had  sonnded,  most  welcome 
signal,  and  the  men  who  were  left  alive,  many 
of  them  wonnded,  began  to  think  of  other  things 
than  killing  and  trying  to  escape  from  being 
killed. 

They  sat  or  sprawled  about,  some  panting  to 
get  back  the  breath  that  was  so  nearly  spent. 
Others  began  to  eat  some  of  their  emergency 
rations  and  to  drink  water  from  their  canteens. 

"Did  yon  see  anything  of  Roger  and  Jim- 
my!" asked  Bob,  when  he  had  recovered  some- 
thing of  his  spent  energies. 

"Yes.  I  see  tham  run  like  Avhat  yon  say — 
Old  Harry — over  by  that  way,"  and  Iggy 
pointed  to  the  left.  "Then  came  a  big  shell 
and  so  mnch  dust  and  smoke  that  I  of  see  tham 
no  more." 

"Say,  I  hope  that  shell  didn't  do  for  'em!" 
exclaimed  Bob.  "Didn't  you  see  anything  of 
'em  after  that?"  he  asked  anxiously. 

"Oh,  that  shell  did  not  tham  keel,"  declared 
Iggy.  "Oh^  no!  I  see  tham  when  the  smoke 
of  it  went  up,  and  so  sure  I  am  that  they  was 
not  keeled  by  these  shell.  But  maybe  they  was 
keeled  by  some  other." 

"Yes,  that's  always  the  chance  in  this  busi- 


128    TEE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

ness,"  returned  Bob  gloomily.  **Well,  we'll 
soon  know.  If  they're  alive  they'll  join  us,  no 
doubt. '' 

**De  soonest  de  bester,"  declared  Iggy. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  more  trying  time  to  iight- 
kig  men  than  just  after  a  big  battle.  The  ex- 
citement that  forced  them  on  against  the  odds 
of  death  in  many  forms  has  subsided,  and  there 
is  the  reaction.  Perhaps  this  reaction  is  even 
greater  after  victory  than  after  defeat.  For 
in  the  latter  case  there  is  still  the  incentive  of 
hurrying  on,  often  to  avoid  capture,  and  this 
need  of  haste  provides  the  excitement  that  pre- 
vents too  much  thinking. 

But  after  a  terrific  and  bloody  engagement, 
such  as  that  through  which  Bob  and  Iggy  had 
just  passed,  and  when  victory  has  come,  there 
often  follows  a  reaction  caused  by  the  thought 
of  the  brave  ones  who,  by  their  lives  or  by  hor- 
rible wounds,  have  helped  pay  the  price  of  the 
success  of  those  who  live  and  who  come  after. 

And  it  was  thoughts  like  these  that  filled  the 
hearts  and  minds  of  the  Khaki  Boys  and  their 
comrades  with  gloom  as  they  recovered  them- 
selves after  the  fighting. 

"Say,  when  are  w^e  going  to  get  some  hot 
soup?"  one  lad  asked. 

''What  flavor  do  you  want?"  shouted  a  com- 
panion. 

"Oh,  I'm  not  particular.  Strawberry  or  va- 
nilla.— ^just  so  long  as  it's  hot." 


ONLY  TWO  LEFT 129 

"Fat  chance  you  have  of  getting  sonp!"  de- 
clared a  veteran.  ''Lucky,  if  you  have  a  crust 
and  some  muddy  water." 

There  was  a  laugh  at  the  talk,  and  then  some 
one  produced  a  battered  mouth  organ.  As  if 
by  magic,  many  who  heard  the  not  unmusical 
strains  forgot  their  weariness  and  joined  in  a 
popular  song.  Some  of  the  wounded  even  tried 
to  sing,  and  it  greatly  raised  the  spirits  of  all 
within  sound  of  the  simple  melody. 

**Good  work,  boys!  Keep  it  up!"  cried  a 
captain,  as  he  hurried  by  on  his  way  to  dispatch 
messengers  to  the  rear.  "Sometimes  a  song's 
as  good  as  a  cup  of  coffee!" 

Soon  the  stretcher  bearers  began  their  grisly 
tasks,  and  after  the  wounded  had  been  cared 
for  the  work  of  burying  the  dead  had  to  be  be- 
gun. Many  negroes  were  employed  in  this  sad 
task,  and  be  it  said  to  the  credit  of  these  men 
and  their  brothers  who  took  active  parts  in  the 
fighting,  that  they  proved  themselves  to  be 
worthy  of  great  praise  and  confidence. 

Not  much  time  could  be  spared  for  mere  sit- 
ting around,  or  "loafing,"  on  the  part  of  the 
unwounded  fighters.  Even  those,  like  Bob  and 
Igg^%  who  had  slight  hurts,  were  expected  to 
turn  in  and  help  now. 

It  was  necessary  to  consolidate  the  positions 
gained  after  such  severe  fighting  and  such  sac- 
rifices, and  while  the  German  trenches  were  oc- 
cupied by  Bome  of  the  Aiuerican  forces,  it  was 


130    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

needful  to  dig  more,  to  plan  dugouts,  and  to 
put  up  new  barbed-wire  entanglements. 

For  the  Bodies  might  be  expected  to  make  a 
counter-attack  at  any  time,  though  it  was  be- 
lieved they  were  so  badly  demoralized  for  the 
present  that  there  would  be  no  immediate  re- 
sumption of  hostilities  on  this  particular  sec- 
tor. 

And  so,  after  a  brief  rest,  Bob  and  Iggy,  hav- 
ing partaken  of  some  of  their  rations  and  some 
water,  began  to  dig  with  pick  and  shovel;  a 
labor  that  was  shared  by  many  of  their  chums. 

It  was  almost  night  when  the  needful  pre- 
cautions had  been  taken  against  a  surprise,  and 
then  the  men  were  delighted  to  hear  that  some 
kitchen  outfits  had  come  up  and  that  hot  food 
would  shortly  be  served. 

''And,  oh  boy,  what  won't  I  do  to  it!"  cried 
Bob.    "I've  got  an  appetite  like  a  house  afire!" 

''Me,  I  am  of  a  hunger,  too,"  said  Iggy. 
' '  But  wish  you  not.  Bob,  dat  Roger  and  Jimmy 
might  be  with  us?" 

"Do  I  wish  it?  I  say  I  do!"  cried  Bob. 
"However,  they  may  blow  in  at  any  moment. 
Maybe  they've  taken  a  lot  of  prisoners  and  have 
to  escort  'em  to  the  rear." 

"I  hope  so,"  murmured  Iggy. 

"Only,  if  that's  the  case,"  went  on  Bob,  **I 
hope  it  doesn't  turn  out  as  it  did  with  Franz. 
We  don't  want  Eodge  and  Jimmy  captured  and 
taken  to  some  prison  camp." 


ONLY  TWO  LEFT 131 

"Not!"  declared  Iggy  with  emphasis.  But, 
liad  they  known  it,  the  plight  of  Roger  and 
Jinnny  at  that  moment  could  not  have  been 
much  worse  had  they  been  in  some  Hun  stock- 
ade. 

Night  came  and  passed,  and  there  was  no 
sign  of,  nor  word  from,  the  two  missing  ones. 
Bob  and  Iggy  looked  at  one  another  the  next 
morning,  and  there  was  fear  and  worry  in  their 
eyes. 

"Where  you  think  they  be?"  asked  Iggy. 

"I  don't  know,"  confessed  Bob.  "It  looks 
as  bad  for  them  as  it  has  looked  for  some  time 
for  Schnitz.  But  we  must  keep  on  hoping.  If 
they're  dead  we'll  know  that  soon  enough — 
worse  luck.  But  if  they  are  listed  as  missing — 
well,  what's  the  use?" 

Iggy  slowly  shook  his  head. 

"We  of  first  was  five  Brothers,"  he  said. 
"Then  Franz  go,  and  we  was  four.  Now  two 
more  iss  go  and  we  iss  two.  Two  left,  only.  Py 
jolly,  maybe  soon  we  iss  only  one ! '  * 


CHAPTER  XVn 


BLOWN   UP 


BOB,  who  was  cleaning  some  of  the  mnd 
off  his  leggings,  looked  up  ard  over  at 
his  Polish  chum. 
"Hey,  you,  come  off  that!"  he  exclaimed. 
"Come  off  what?"  asked  Iggy  in  surprise. 
"I  iss  only  sit  on  de  ground,  and  unless  I  iss 
come  off  him — py  jolly!  where  else  could  I  go?" 
he  asked. 

"Oh,  I  didn't  mean  come  off  the  earth!"  ex- 
claimed Bob,  with  a  laugh.    "I  meant  stop  mak- 
ing such  gloomy  predictions." 
"Who  is  he  I"  asked  Iggy. 
"Who's  who?"  countered  Bob. 
"Dat  Mr.  Dixton,"  responded  Iggj.    "Does 
you  mean  Captain  Frank  Dickerson?" 

"Oh,  no!    No!"  laughed  Bob.    "I  mean  yon 
are  not  to  be  so  gloomy-Gus  like." 

132 


BLOWN  UP  isn 


**Gust  Gus?  Iss  he  a  pasteboy — I  mean  a 
doughboy,  too?'^ 

"Siiy,  if  I've  got  to  go  back  and  explain 
everytliing  I'll  never  get  this  nrnd  off !"  laughed 
Bob.  ^*A11 1  meant  was  don't  look  on  the  dark 
side  of  things.  Be  a  little  happier,  and  yon '11 
make  me  happier.  Don't  think,  just  because 
Roger  and  Jimmy  haven't  showed  up,  that  they 
are  dead  or  prisoners.    They  may  be  all  right." 

"I  have  a  hope  so,"  said  Iggy,  but  the  gloomy 
way  in  which  he  shook  his  head  did  not  indicate 
that  he  was  very  sincere. 

However,  there  was  nothing  that  could  be 
done  about  it,  and  Bob  and  Iggy  just  had  to 
wait.  Time,  however,  did  not  hang  heavily  on 
their  hands,  for  there  was  never  a  moment  of 
the  day  and  very  few  moments  of  the  night 
when  there  was  not  something  to  do.  If  it  was 
not  standing  guard,  doing  sentry  duty,  digging 
trenches,  or  helping  fit  up  dugouts,  there  were 
barbed-wire  parties  to  become  active  in,  listen- 
ing-post duty  to  go  out  on,  and  the  thousand 
and  one  things  that  a  fighting  army  can  always 
find  to  do. 

Iggy  and  Bob  performed  their  full  share  of 
all  these  tasks,  and  it  was  perhaps  well  that 
they  could  be  kept  so  occupied.  For,  in  spite 
of  Bob's  seeming  cheerfulness,  dark  forebodings 
r,s  to  the  fate  of  Jimmy  and  Roger  would  come 
to  him. 

"And  there's  Franz,  too,"  he  told  himself. 


134.    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


''But  he's  be  ^n  missing  so  long  now  that  it's 
hardly  possible  he'll  ever  come  back — at  least, 
until  after  the  war  is  over  and  prisoners  are 
exchanged." 

But  Bob  was  to  meet  Franz  Schnitzel  sooner 
ihan  he  expected,  and  under  strange  circum- 
stances. 

"Well,  I  wonder  what  the  next  move  will  be," 
remarked  Bob  to  a  fellow  soldier  one  day  about 
a  week  after  the  big  advance  in  which  Roger  and 
Jimmy  had  been  lost  sight  of.  Since  that  time 
there  had  been  only  slight  engagements  between 
patrols  of  the  Americans  and  the  Huns. 

"Oh,  there'll  be  more  fighting,"  was  the  an- 
swer from  a  young  soldier  named  Harry  Blon- 
dell,  with  whom  Bob  had  become  friendly. 
"There's  got  to  be  more  fighting.  I  guess  our 
officers  are  laying  pipes  for  another  big  scrap 
that'll  carry  us  clear  into  Germany." 

"That  would  be  some  advance!"  laughed 
Bob.  "But,  at  the  same  time,  the  Boches  may 
be  planning  to  come  through  our  lines  again." 

"Well,  we'll  be  ready  for  'em,"  declared 
Harry.  ' '  I  never  felt  better  in  all  my  life.  This 
hard  fighting  and  living  in  the  mud  and  wet 
seems  to  agree  with  me." 

"Glad  you're  fit!"  declared  Bob.  "The  Kai- 
ser'11  probably  be  worried  when  he  hears  you're 
ready  to  take  the  field  again  against  his  divi- 
sions." 

"No  doubt!"  chuckled  Harry. 


BLOWN  UP  135 


The  truth  of  the  matter  was  that,  aside  from 
wounds,  the  health  of  the  American  soldiers 
was  excellent  in  spite  of  adverse  conditions  due 
to  the  climate.  They  could  be  wet  to  the  skin 
day  after  day,  and  yet  few  of  them  took  colds, 
and  many  of  them  were  delicate  lads  who,  up  to 
a  few  months  before,  would  not  have  thought  of 
going  out  in  the  rain  without  rubbers  and  an 
umbrella. 

It  was  one  evening  when  Bob  and  Iggy,  to- 
gether with  many  of  their  comrades,  were  pre- 
paring to  go  on  duty  for  their  night  tricks  that 
a  rumor  started  somewhere  in  the  trenches  to 
the  effect  that  a  big  battle  impended  on  the  mor- 
row. 

Just  who  was  responsible  for  this  no  one 
seemed  to  know,  but  soon  after  the  talk  circu- 
lated it  was  noticed  that  there  was  great  activ- 
ity around  the  brigade  headquarters.  Messen- 
gers hurried  to  and  fro,  and  several  American 
aeroplanes  were  observed  fluttering  over  the 
German  lines. 

"Well,  fighting  is  what  we're  here  for,"  said 
Bob  to  Iggy,  as  they  started  for  the  traverse 
where  they  were  to  be  on  duty  about  half  the 
night — unless  an  attack  should  come. 

"Yes.  i^  is  better  to  have  a  fight  and  get  with 
it  throuH?  tlian  to  be  waiting  all  the  times," 
said  the  Polish  lad. 

It  was  rnther  a  nervous  strain  for  many  sen- 
tries that  night  as  they  stood  on  the  firing  step, 


^88    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

gazing  across  No  Man's  Land  toward  the 
barbed-wire  entanglements  of  the  Germans. 
Would  the  Sammies  get  the  order  to  charge 
across  there,  after  a  barrage  had  been  laid 
down?  Or  would  the  gray  hordes  leap  out  and 
try  to  thrust  back  the  soldiers  of  Uncle  Sam 
who  were  slowly  but  surely  smashing  the  Hun 
lines?  This  might  be  knoAvn  to  the  staff  officers 
in  the  headquarters  back  of  the  American  lines, 
or  the  answer  might  be  made  by  the  Boche  gen- 
erals. 

So  it  was  nervous  waiting,  and  Bob,  in  com- 
mon Avith  the  others,  felt  it  as  they  stood  on 
duty  through  the  long  hours  of  the  dark  night. 

It  was  nearing  three  o'clock,  and  it  would  be 
dawn  in  another  hour,  when  platoon  officers  be- 
gan moving  along  the  trenches,  and  as  they 
passed  group  after  group  of  the  Sammies  the 
officers  whispered: 

*'Be  ready!    We  attack  at  four  o'clock!" 

Those  who  had  wrist  watches  looked  at  them, 
the  radium-illuminated  dials  showing  the  ap- 
proximate time. 

"An  hour  to  wait!"  mused  Bob,  as  he  an- 
swered the  officer  who  notified  him.  **  A  lot  will 
be  haT>"nening  an  hour  from  now." 

And  the  same  thought  was  mth  all  of  them. 

"How  many  would  be  alive  at  this  same  time 
to-morrow  night?" 

Slowly  the  seconds  and  minutes  ticked  them- 
selves   away.      Silently    the    soldiers    in    the 


BLOWN  UP  137 


trenches  made  ready.  And  behind  the  lines 
preparations  to  support  the  advance,  after  the 
way  was  prepared  for  it  by  shells  from  the  big 
guns,  were  going  on. 

Silently  groups  of  alert  men  gathered  beliind 
their  officers  in  the  traverses.  The  sentinels 
stood  on  the  firing  step,  ready  and  waiting. 
Short  ladders  were  placed  here  and  there  to 
facilitate  the  fighters  in  getting  out  of  the 
sunken  protections. 

Bob  noted  the  illuminated  minute  hand  of 
his  watch  creeping  on  toward  the  XIL 

"Sixty  seconds  more,"  he  murmured.  He 
glanced  over  toward  Iggy.  In  the  faint  dawn 
he  could  see  his  Polish  chum  standing  with  his 
rifle,  ready  to  leap  from  the  trench. 

Then,  suddenly,  like  a  burst  of  thunder  from 
a  clear  sky,  the  American  barrage  started,  and 
after  a  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  the  whistles 
sounded. 

"Over  the  top!" 

The  old,  familiar,  but  always  thrilling  call. 
"Over  the  top!" 

Out  of  the  trenches  leaped  Bob,  Iggy  and 
their  comrades.  On  toward  the  German  lines 
they  rushed,  the  half-darlaiess  of  the  dawn  n'~"T 
illuminated  with  the  flashes  from  the  big  guns. 

The  Germans  were  not  long  in  replying. 
They  wore  not  taken  by  surprise,  and  soon  a 
rain  of  II.  E.  shells,  as  well  as  shrartnel,  began 
to  deluge  the  American  positions.    But  through 


138    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

this  storm  of  missiles  the  gallant  lads  of  the 
509th  Infantry  leaped  forward.  They  yelled 
and  shouted,  but  they,  each  one,  only  heard  his 
own  voice,  so  great  was  the  din  of  the  guns. 

"Come  on!    Come  on!"  cried  Bob  hoarsely. 

But  Iggy  and  his  comrades  needed  no  urging. 
They  were  rushing  at  the  Germans  like  human 
tigers.  They  had  heard  so  much  and  seen  so 
much  of  the  cruelty  of  the  Huns  that  each  time 
the  Sammies  went  into  battle  it  was  as  though 
they  were  taking  personal  revenge  on  the 
Kaiser's  troops. 

Bob  felt  something,  it  w^as  as  if  a  great  blast 
of  air  passed  him.  It  lifted  him  from  the  eartK 
and  hurled  him  back,  but  he  managed  to  regain 
his  feet.  Then  came  a  terrible  noise  behind 
him — so  far  back  that  he  was  not  harmed.  But 
that  could  not  be  said  for  half  a  score  of  his 
comrades.  A  great  shell  exploded  in  their 
midst,  and  there  were  more  than  a  score  of  casu- 
alties from  it. 

*' Close  call!"  murmured  Bob  as  he  staggered 
on.  He  lost  sight  of  Iggy  in  the  rush,  but  hoped 
the  Polish  lad  was  follo^^^ng  closely.  Then  Bob 
had  his  hands  full,  for  he  and  his  immediate 
companions  encountered  some  German  machine- 
gun  creAvs,  and  there  was  hard  fighting  before 
the  Boches  were  killed  or  thrown  into  complete 
disorder. 

*' Forward!  Forward!"  was  the  order,  and 
well  was  it  obeyed. 


BLOIVN  UP  139 


On  over  the  German  trenches  \yent  the  Sam- 
mies. Now  and  again  they  were  held  up  by  the 
fierce  firing  of  hidden  wea]3ons,  and  then  squads 
would  volunteer  to  clean  out  these  frightful 
nests. 

Bob  volunteered  for  this  perilous  work  more 
than  once,  and  after  one  assault  on  a  party  of 
Huns  entrenched  in  a  ruined  farmhouse  Bob 
was  slightly  wounded.  But  he  kept  on  fighting, 
and  at  last  the  Boches  cried  ^^Kamerad!"  That 
is,  those  did  who  were  able. 

A  party  started  back  with  the  prisoners — 
about  a  dozen  of  them — while  the  rest  of  Bob's 
companions  paused  a  moment  to  rest  in  the 
farmhouse,  which  was  pretty  well  battered  up. 

*'Well,  we'd  better  get  out  of  here — there's 
work  ahead  for  us,"  said  the  second  lieuten- 
ant who  had  led  the  assault  on  the  machine-gun 
position.    ''Come  along,  boys!" 

Just  as  they  were  leaving  the  house  it  seemed 
as  if  the  very  earth  was  disrupted.  Bob  felt 
himself  being  hurled  through  the  air  and  he 
had  a  vision  of  the  building  being  blown  apart. 
The  next  thing  he  realized  was  that  he  was  fall- 
ing.   Then  came  oblivion. 


CHAPTER  XVin 


A   STRANGE   MEETING 


BOB  DALTON  slowly  opened  his  eyes. 
The  reason  he  did  it  slowly  was  because 
it  seemed  less  painful  that  way.  And 
the  truth  of  the  matter  was  that  he  ached  all 
over.  Later  he  said  he  felt  as  though  some  one 
had  taken  a  club  and  pounded  him  from  head  to 
foot. 

"I  wonder  what  happened,"  mused  Bob,  and 
his  brain  seemed  to  work  as  slowly  as  did  his 
eyes.  Then  came  remembrance  of  the  great 
blast,  of  the  farmhouse  blown  into  the  air,  and 
he  himself  being  hurled  along  with  at  least  part 
of  it.  Then  came  the  fall  and  darkness.  And 
it  was  from  this  darkness  of  unconsciousness 
that  Bob  was  now  gradually  emerging. 

He  turned  his  head  from  side  to  side,  and  was 
glad  to  find  that  it  was  still  attached  to  his  body 
and  that  he  could  still  move  it. 

Bob  saw  that  he  was  lying  in  a  field.  Dirt 
140 


A   STRANGE  MEETING 141 

was  all  about  him,  some  scattered  in  such  a  way 
as  to  show  that  shells  had  landed  there  not  very 
long  before.  Over  his  head  Bob  could  see  the 
sk^^  and  note  that  clouds  were  slowly  floating 
along. 

"Well,  I'm  out  in  the  open,  that's  one  sure 
thing,"  mused  the  Khaki  Boy.  "Now  to  see  if 
I've  got  my  legs  and  arms  left.  My  head's  as 
sore  as  a  boil,  though." 

The  best  way  to  discover  this  was  to  use  his 
hands,  and  he  found,  to  his  delight,  that  they 
were  both  attached  to  his  arms,  and  that  his 
finq:ers  were  intact.  They  were  a  little  numb, 
but  he  managed  to  move  them,  convincing  him- 
self that  at  least  the  upper  part  of  his  body  was 
still  intact. 

"Hum!  Lump  about  as  big  as  a  hen's  egg,^^ 
murmured  Bob,  as  he  discovered  a  protuberence 
on  his  head.  It  was  the  blow  which  caused  this 
that  had  rendered  him  senseless. 

"Now  if  I  can  wiggle  my  legs  maybe  I'll  be 
able  to  get  up  and  see  what  happened  and 
what's  going  on,"  thought  Bob.  He  lay  still 
for  a  moment  longer,  however,  moving  his  feet 
only  slightly,  and  he  was  glad  to  find  that  his 
legs  seemed  to  be  normal. 

There  was  borne  to  his  ears  the  distant 
sounds  of  war — the  rattle  of  rifles  and  machine 
guns,  and  the  boom  of  artillery.  But  it  was  so 
distant  that  he  decided  the  tide  of  battle  had 
passed  beyond  him,  wherever  he  was. 


142    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


"And  that's  the  thing  to  find  out — where  I 
am,"  murmured  Bob.    "I  can  get  up,  I  guess." 

He  was  about  to  do  this  when  he  heard  voices 
talking,  and  it  needed  but  a  hearing  of  the  first 
few  words  to  tell  Bob  that  the  talk  was  in  Ger- 
man. 

Bob  lay  still  and  listened.  He  wanted  to 
make  sure  of  his  position  before  he  arose.  The 
next  few  words  apprised  him  of  the  plight  into 
which  he  had  fallen,  or  rather,  been  blown. 
Bob  understood  enough  German  to  enable  him 
to  know  what  was  being  said.  And  the  first  ex- 
pression was,  when  translated : 

"There  is  another  dead  American  pig  over 
there. ' ' 

"You're  right,"  came  in  rejoinder.  "The 
mine  hidden  in  the  house  worked  to  perfection. 
If  they  killed  our  machine  gunners,  we  killed 
twice  as  many  of  them." 

"It  was  a  beautiful  explosion,"  went  on  the 
first  speaker.  "How  the  swine-hounds  did  sail 
up." 

"Blown  to  bits!"  laughed  the  other. 

"All  but  this  one.  He  doesn't  seem  to  have 
been  hurt  at  all." 

"Maybe  he  was  too  far  outside.  But  he  is 
dead,  there  is  no  need  to  bayonet  him." 

"Say,  can  they  be  talking  about  me!"  was 
the  thought  that  flashed  through  Bob's  mind. 

There  seemed  to  be  no  doubt  of  it  a  little 
later,  for  he  heard  one  of  the  Germans  say: 


A   STRANGE   MEETING (m 

"Well,  we  may  as  well  search  him.  The  pigs 
sometimes  have  gold  money.  And,  anyhow,  his 
shoes  are  better  than  mine.  I'll  take  them  off. 
Dead  men  need  no  shoes!"  and  he  laughed. 

''He  takes  a  whole  lot  for  granted,"  thought 
Bob  grimly.  And  then,  as  he  sensed  the  imnort 
ot  this  talk,  his  real  situation  became  apparent. 

"They  had  that  farmhouse  mined,"  mused 
Bob,  "After  we  wiped  out  the  machine  gun- 
ners some  one  of  the  Boches  must  have  sprung 
the  mine.  That  did  for  our  fellows  and  sent  me 
sailinn;  through  the  air.  I  got  the  bump  on  the 
head  that  put  me  to  sleep,  and  now,  as  soon  as 
I  wake  up,  they  think  I'm  dead.  But  I'll  show 
*em " 

He  brought  his  musings  to  a  sudden  end,  for 
at  that  instant  he  felt  a  violent  pull  on  one  leg. 
His  foot  was  wrenched  to  one  side.  But  Bob 
did  not  mind  the  pain  much,  for  it  told  him  his 
feet  and  legs  were  in  good  shape. 

"Here!  Quit  that!"  he  yelled,  as  he  raised 
his  head  and  saw  a  burly  German  soldier  try- 
ing to  unlace  the  shoes  that  were  on  Bob's  feet. 

If  a  bomb  had  dropped  between  the  two  Huns 
they  could  not  have  been  more  greatly  dis- 
turbed. They  leaped  back  and  stared  with 
wide-open  eyes  at  Bob,  who  sat  up.  The  man 
who  had  had  hold  of  his  foot  dropped  it, 

"He — ^lie  is  not  dead!"  this  fellow  cried,  in 
German. 

"No.    But  let's  finish  him!"  said  the  other. 


144    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

For  a  moment  Bob  gave  np  hope.  He  was 
unarmed.  His  rifle  had  blown  ont  of  his  hands 
nnd  his  revolver  was  missing.  And  he  saw,  not 
far  off,  a  number  of  Germans.  It  was  evident 
tljere  had  been  a  shift  in  the  lines  dnring  the 
time  Bob  was  nnconscioiTS,  and  the  Boches 
again  occupied  the  position  around  the  demol- 
ished farmhouse. 

The  Hun  who  had  proposed  to  bayonet  Bob 
raised  his  weapon,  but  the  other  interposed. 

**We  were  told  to  take  prisoners  if  we  could 
get  them,"  he  said  in  German.  *'And  this  is 
one  of  their  nnder-officers.  He  may  tell  us 
something. ' ' 

*' You've  got  another  guess  coming,  Fritzie!'' 
said  Bob,  aloud. 

*'The  pig-dog  says  something,"  remarked  the 
soldier  with  the  rifle.  **Do  you  know  what  it  is, 
comrade  ? ' ' 

''Nein!  How  should  T  speak  the  rotten  talk? 
Well,  we'll  search  him  and  take  him  along  with 
us.  The  lieutenant  will  be  glad  of  the  pris- 
oner." 

Poor  Bob  was  in  dire  straits,  but,  still,  being 
taken  prisoner  was  infinitely  better  than  being 
bayoneted  on  the  spot;  and  Bob  realized  this 
even  though  he  had  heard  many  stories  of  the 
German  prison  camps. 

For  one  wild  moment  he  had  an  idea  of  leap- 
ing up  and  gi^nng  the  best  battle  possible  to  his 
two  captors.    There  were  only  two  immediately 


A   STRANGE  MEETING  145 


near  him,  and  Bob  had  a  sort  of  patriotic  no- 
tion that  one  American  was  better  than  half  a 
dozen  Germans.  But  cold  facts  stared  him  in 
the  face  as  he  slowly  rose  to  his  feet.  Among: 
these  facts  was  the  realization  that  he  was  weak 
and  trembling  from  the  eifects  of  his  being  so 
nearly  blo'wn  to  death  in  the  explosion.  An- 
other fact  was,  that  though  there  were  only 
two  of  the  Huns  close  at  hand,  there  were  many 
others  within  signaling  distance. 

*'Well,  I  guess  I'll  have  to  give  up,''  thought 
poor  Bob. 

And  then  the  Germans  closed  in  on  him.  Bob 
could  not  resist.  His  pockets  were  turned 
inside  out,  and  they  took  everything  he  had. 
They  even  took  his  shoes,  and  tossed  him  a  pair 
of  old,  half-rotten  ones  which  the  tallest  Ger- 
man discarded. 

"Go  ahead!"  ordered  the  man  who  had  ex- 
pressed the  wish  to  bayonet  Bob,  and  the  pris- 
oner had  no  choice  but  to  obey.  They  marched 
behind  him  with  rifles  held  in  readiness  for  in- 
stant use,  and  soon  Bob  was  in  the  midst  of  a 
company  of  Germans,  the  officer  of  which 
showed  great  delight  at  the  sight  of  the  Ameri- 
can. 

"I  wonder  how  many  of  our  poor  fellows  they 
nave,"  mused  Bob.  ''Gee,  but  this  is  tough 
luck!" 

He  felt  like  giving  way  to  despair,  but  his 
pride  and  grit  kept  him  from  doing  so  before 


146    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  ^vjy 

the  leering,  exultant  Germans.  So  Bob  shut 
his  teeth  tight  and  marched  on.  It  was  not 
imtil  late  that  evening  that  he  was  allowed  to 
rest  in  a  German  camp,  and  then  he  found  what 
the  officer  hr,d  meant  by  "others."  There  were 
g  number  of  Americans  who  had  been  captured 
and  vrere  being  herded  together  to  be  sent  into 
the  interior  of  Germany  or  to  some  of  the  con- 
quered parts  of  France,  where  many  of  the  Ger- 
man prison  camps  Avere  located. 

The  days  that  followed  Bob's  capture  were 
full  of  misery.  He  was  packed  into  a  filthy 
railroad  car  with  wounded  and  distressed  m.en, 
and  then,  by  slow  and  jerky  stages,  he  was  taken 
away. 

On  this  terrible  journey  to  the  German  prison 
camp  the  poor  captives  had  scarcely  anything 
to  eat  and  almost  no  water  to  drink.  Many 
were  ill,  and  several  wounded,  but  no  attention 
was  given  them,  and  their  wounds  were  not 
dressed. 

At  times  Bob  thought  he  would  go  mad  at  tHe 
sights  he  saw.  His  oa\ti  personal  sufferings, 
once  the  pain  in  his  head  ceased,  were  not  great ; 
but,  in  common  with  the  others,  he  lacked  food 
and  water. 

And  finally,  after  many  Aveary  day?  the; 
were  taken  from  the  train  and  marched  ami-: 
jeering  lines  of  Germans  to  a  wired  stockade. 

Bob  dragged  his  unwilling  feet  'vAo  the  stock- 
ade.   He  saw  gathered  in  the  enclosure  many 


A   STRANGE  MEETING  147 

sad-eyed  and  sorrowful  American  and  Allied 
prisoners.  And  then,  to  the  great  astonishment 
of  Bob,  he  heard  his  o\ati  name  shouted. 

Some  one  was  running  toward  him — a  ragged 
figure — and  at  first  he  did  not  recognize  who  it 
was.    Then  the  voice  spoke  again: 

**Bob!    Bob  Dalton!    And  so  they  got  you, 

too!    Oh,  but  I'm  glad  to  see  you No,  I'm 

not  either — not  here ! ' ' 

Bob  rubbed  his  eyes.  For  a  moment  he 
thought  it  was  all  a  dream  and  that  this  was  but 
a  phase  of  the  explosion.  Then  as  the  face  be- 
fore him  became  more  plain  through  a  mist  that 
seemed  to  fill  his  eyes,  Bob  gasped : 

''Schnitz!    If  it  isn't  Franz  Schnitzel!" 

The  long-sought,  missing  Brother  had  been 
found,  and  now  the  two  Khaki  Boys  had 
strangely  met  to  be  companions  in  misery. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

IN  SWIRLING   WATERS 

FALSE-HEAETED  and  desperate  as  had 
been  the  two  men  who  struck  down  and 
rendered  Roger  and  Jimmy  senseless, 
their  last  inhiiman  act — the  tossmfx  of  the  un- 
conscious KI  aki  Boys  over  the  cliff — defeated 
their  intentio;  s.  For  as  the  Brothers  fell  into 
the  deep  water,  the  shock  and  contact  of  it 
brought  back  their  senses. 

Roger  and  Jimmy  splashed  into  the  water  at 
the  same  time,  and  at  first  they  sanlc  deep  into 
the  smrling  depths  of  the  river,  which  ran  at 
the  foot  of  the  cliff,  dotted  here  and  there  on  its 
surface  with  black  rocks. 

The  blows  that  they  had  received  on  their 
heads  had  not,  fortunately,  been  sufficiently 
hard  to  make  them  unconscious  for  more  than  a 
few  minutes.    It  was  as  if  a  pugilist  had  re- 

148 


IN  SWIRLING   WATERS  149 

ceived  a  "knockout"  of  a  little  more  than  the 
usual  severity. 

The  shock  and  chill  of  the  water  brought  back 
the  senses  of  the  two  lads,  and  their  first,  nat- 
ural instinct,  in  common  with  that  of  every 
swimmer,  was  to  hold  their  breath  when  they 
felt  their  heads  submerged. 

And  then  the  boys  came  to  the  surface  and 
struck  out.  Again  this  was  almost  instinct. 
They  were  both  good  swimmers,  and  among  the 
feats  they  had  practised  at  various  times  in 
summer  pleasure  camps  had  been  to  swim 
across  a  lake  fully  clothed.  This  exploit  stood 
the  lads  in  good  stead  now,  though  the  garments 
they  wore  and  the  accoutrements  they  had  to 
carry  very  heavily  handicapped  them. 

But  they  knew  how  to  get  rid  of  their  gas 
masks,  and  as  their  steel  helmets  had  fallen  off 
during  the  attack,  and  as  they  had  no  weapons, 
they  were  not  as  heavily  burdened  as  a  soldier 
on  the  battle  front  would  have  been. 

So  they  managed  to  get  to  the  surface  and 
strike  out,  though  they  did  not  know  in  which 
direction  to  swim,  save  toward  the  nearest 
shore.  But  to  reach  that  was  a  task  more  easily 
thought  of  than  carried  out.  The  current  was 
swift,  and  they  could  make  little  progress 
against  it. 

*' Don't  try  co  breast  it!"  cried  Jimmy  to 
Roger.  **Let  yourself  float  down,  and  work 
your  way  over  to  the  nearest  bank. ' ' 


150    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


i( 


'  All  right !    How  are  you  ? '  * 

"Pretty  rotten.  I  got  a  bad  jolt  on  the  head, 
hut  the  water  makes  it  feel  better,"  said 
Jimmy. 

"Wliat  happened  to  us,  anyhow?"  asked 
Roger,  as  he  managed  to  get  to  his  companion's 
side.  ''All  I  remember  is  being  struck  down. 
Did  the  Germans  make  a  counter-attack?" 

"It  wasn't  the  Germans,"  declared  Jimmy. 
"It  was  those  two  Bixton  fellows  from  the  sig- 
nal corps.    They  attacked  us ! " 

"What  fori"  cried  Roger.  "Are  they  Ger- 
man spies?" 

"Well,  they're  as  bad  as  that,  if  not  worse," 
declared  Jimmy.  "They're  traitors,  I  believe. 
They  must  have  attacked  us,  as  they  threatened 
to  do,  because  they  found  out  that  we,  in  a  way, 
were  responsible  for  Mike  Bixton 's  being  sent 
to  jail.  They  threatened  to  do  us  up,  and  they 
did  it." 

"They  surely  did!"  assented  Roger.  "Why, 
they  might  have  killed  us." 

"They  tried  to,  hard  enough,"  declared 
Jimmy. 

"Do  you  really  tliink  so?"  cried  his  compan- 
ion. 

"I'm  sure  of  it!  AVliy,  they  struck  iaard 
enough  to  kill.  Only  that  we  had  on  our  tin 
hats,  they'd  have  ended  us.  And  then  dump- 
ing us  into  this  river — that  was  to  be  the  end, 
they  thought." 


IN  SWIRLING  WATERS  151 

''And  I^m  not  sure  but  what  it  will  be  yet/' 
said  Eoger,  as  his  swimming  strokes  seemed  to 
lose  power. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Jimmy  anx- 
iously.   "Can't  you  keep  it  up?" 

"Not  much  longer.  I'm  about  all  in.  My 
head  feels  queer!" 

Jimmy  looked  about  him.  They  were  in  the 
midst  of  s^virling  waters  that  rushed  in  and  out 
among  the  rocks.  The  two  lads  had  a  hard 
struggle  not  to  be  dashed  against  these. 

"Do  you  see  that  flat  rock  over  there?"  cried 
Jimmy  to  his  chum,  pointing  to  one  about  a 
hundred  feet  down  stream  and  nearer  to  the 
western  bank  than  the  boys  then  were. 

"Yes,  I  see  it,"  Avas  the  answer. 

"Do  you  think  you  can  reach  it?" 

"Maybe.    But  why?" 

"Because  it's  a  flat  rock,  and  it  stands  well 
lip  out  of  the  water.  If  we  climb  out  on  it  we 
can  take  a  rest  and  catch  our  breath.  Then, 
maybe,  we  can  get  across  to  the  shore." 

"Go  ahead!"  said  Roger  desperately.  "I'll 
iollow  you." 

They  had  momentarily  caught  hold  of  a  small 
projecting  rock  in  the  stream,  but  it  was  not 
large  enough  to  afford  a  foothold.  Jimmy  now 
let  go  of  this  and  struck  out  for  the  flat  rock  of 
which  he  had  spoken.  Roger  followed  as  best 
he  could. 

It  was  no  easy  matter  for  the  half-exhausted 


152    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

lads  to  scramble  up  the  sides  of  the  slippery 
rock.  But  their  desperate  sitnation  seemed  to 
give  them  additional  strength,  and  at  last  they 
were  out  of  the  water.  They  sat  down,  little 
streams  running  from  their  clothes  over  th^ 
slanting  rock,  whence  they  dribbled  into  tlio 
river  that  flowed  on  either  side  of  the  boulder. 

"Well,  Ave 're  alive,  anyhow,"  remarked  Jim- 
my, as  his  breathing  came  back  to  somewhere 
about  normal. 

"That's  about  all  we  can  say,"  rejoined  his 
chum.  "We'll  never  be  able  to  swim  to  shore. 
The  current  is  too  swift,"  and  he  pressed  his 
hands  to  his  aching  head. 

"Oh,  don't  give  up  so  easily!"  exclaimed 
Jimmy.  "We'll  get  to  shore  all  right.  What 
we  are  going  to  do  when  we  get  there  is  the  only 
thing  that's  worrying  me." 

"Get  back  to  our  company  as  soon  as  we 
can,"  ad\ased  Roger.  "The  others  can't  be  so 
very  far  away. ' ' 

"They  may  be  ten  miles,  as  far  as  I  can  tell," 
went  on  Sergeant  Jimmy.  "I  don't  know  a 
thing  that  happened  after  the  Bixtons  struck 
ns  until  I  woke  up  in  the  water.  They  certainly 
are  scoundrels!"  he  declared  bitterly. 

"That's  right,"  assented  his  chum.  "You'd 
think,  if  they  thought  they  had  a  real  quarrel 
with  us,  that  they'd  have  waited  until  the  battle 
was  over  to  attack  us.  I  can't  understand  it 
all." 


IN  SWIRLING  WATERS  163 


*  *  Nor  I, ' '  admitted  Jimmy.  ' '  Unless  they  are 
afraid  of  us,  as  well  as  bearing  us  a  grud.^e  be- 
cause of  what  we  did  to  Mike.  And  I'm  in- 
clined to  think  they  are  afraid." 

''What  of?"  asked  Roger. 

"That  we'll  tell  on  'em.  I  believe  the  two 
Bixtons  are  the  same  fellows  we  saw  in  the  dug- 
out and  who  were  seen  later  by  the  Twinkle 
Twins  sending  up  smoke  signals.  The  fact  that 
the  Bixtons  belong  to  the  signal  corps  makes  it 
all  the  more  suspicious." 

"Yes,  I  guess  it  does,"  said  Roger  wearily. 
"Well,  if  we  ever  get  out  of  this  we'll  have 
something  against  'em  all  right.  But  how  are 
we  going  to  get  across?" 

"We'll  have  to  swim  for  it,"  declared  Jimmy. 
* '  Come  on.  No  telling  when  we  '11  be  under  fire. 
I  say,  Roger,  look  at  that ! "  he  suddenly  cried, 
pointing  up  stream. 

Roger  looked,  and  saw  a  raft  made  of  tree 
trunks  lashed  together  coming  down  the  swift 
river,  and  on  the  raft  were  a  number  of  German 
soldiers. 

"That  raft  is  going  to  come  right  close  to  this 
rock!"  cried  Jimmy,  and  Roger  also  decided 
that  this  would  be  the  case. 

"Are  they  coming  after  us?"  he  asked. 

"No,  I  don't  believe  so,"  was  Jimmy's  re- 
joinder. "I  guess  they've  been  in  a  fight  them- 
selves. There  are  two  or  three  lying  do\\Ti  on 
the  raft  who  look  as  if  they  were  wounded." 


154    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

On  came  the  raft,  urged  by  the  swift  current. 
The  Germans  aboard  it  saw  the  two  lads  on  the 
rock  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  and  they  seemed 
to  be  taking  counsel  among  themselves. 
..  ''If  we  could  get  on  that  log  outfit  we  could 
float  down  stream  in  safety  until  we  came  to  a 
landing  place,  or  to  a  better  place  to  cross," 
suggested  Jimmy. 

''But  we  can't  get  on!"  exclaimed  Roger. 
"Those  Germans  don't  seem  to  have  any  guns, 
but  they're  two  to  our  one,  not  counting  those 
lying  doA\m.    We  can 't  get  on  the  raft,  Jimmy. ' ' 

"We've  got  to!"  was  the  desperate  answer. 
"We'll  fight  'em  with  bare  knuckles  for  a  place 
there.  It's  our  lives  or  theirs!  Roger,  we've 
got  to  fight!"  and  Jimmy  rolled  up  his  sleeves 
while  the  raft  with  the  four  live  Germans  and 
three  dead  ones  swept  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
rock  that  formed  a  refuge  for  the  two  Khaki 
Boys. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE   GAVE   FIGHT 

PERILOUS  in  the  extreme  was  the  strait 
in  which  Jimmy  and  Roger  found  them- 
selves. They  realized  that  they  could  not 
remain  very  long  on  the  rock  in  mid-stream  in 
their  present  weakened  and  drenched  condition. 
It  was  barely  large  enough  for  them,  and  just 
as  the  raft  came  in  sight  a  new  peril  became 
manifest.  This  was  the  fact  that  the  river  was 
rising. 

Roger  had  noticed  it  and  called  Jimmy's  at- 
tention to  it  just  as  the  Germans  came  around 
a  bend  in  the  stream.  There  had  been  consider- 
able rain,  and  more  was  in  prospect.  The 
stream  would  probably  rise  suddenlj^,  and  then 
it  w^ould  be  impossible  for  the  Khaki  Boys  to 
maintain  their  position  on  the  rock.  The  tor- 
rent would  sweep  over  it. 

155 


166    THE  KB  A  VJ  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


But  a  more  immediate  need  confronted  them. 
They  felt  tliat  they  must  take  refnge  on  the  raft 
as  the  only  means  of  getting  out  of  the  desper- 
ate situation  where  fate  had  swept  them. 

*'Get  ready!"  called  Jimmy  to  his  chum,  as 
a  swirl  of  the  current  brought  the  raft  nearer 
the  rock. 

"What's  the  game  to  be?"  asked  Eoger. 

"We'll  leap  on  the  raft  as  it  floats  past.  If 
the  Germans  will  let  us  share  it  with  them,  well 
and  good.  If  not — ^^^ell,  we'll  jjust  have  to  fight 
them,  that's  all.  As  I  said,  it's  our  lives  or 
theirs. ' ' 

"If  they  haven't  any  arms  we  stand  a 
chance,"  returned  Eoger.  "But  if  they  try  any 
shooting " 

"I  don't  believe  they  have  a  gun  or  a  revol- 
ver, ' '  interrupted  Jimmy.  ' '  If  they  had,  they  'd 
have  begun  shooting  before  this.  Come  on  now, 
get  ready!" 

The  attitude  of  the  Germans  on  the  raft,  at 
least  those  who  by  their  attitude  showed  them- 
selves to  be  unwounded,  or  at  best  but  slightly 
wounded,  was  strange.  They  seemed  stunned, 
as  if  they  had  passed  through  some  terrible 
experience.  And,  as  Roger  and  Jimmy  learned 
later,  the  men  had  taken  part  in  a  desperate 
engagement,  and  their  whole  command  had  been 
practically  wiped  out.  These  few  had  managed 
to  escape  to  the  raft,  but  the  horror  of  what 
they  had  gone  through  seemed  to  make  them 


THE  CAVE  FIGHT 157 

temporarily  inculpable  of  using  all  their  facul- 
ties. 

It  was  due  to  this,  perhaps,  that  Eoger  and 
Jimmy  were  able  to  accomplish  whcit  they  did. 
For  as  they  leaped  aboard  the  raft,  there  was 
onlv  slight  resistance  at  first.  One  or  two  of 
the  Germans  tried  to  x^ii^h  the  lads  off,  and  '^hey 
would  have  succeeded  had  they  used  their 
strength  to  its  best  advantage. 

But  they  did  not  seem  to  know  what  to  do. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  they  lacked  a  leader,  and  a 
quick  glance  directed  to  the  prostrate  figures 
on  the  raft  showed  that  one  was  an  under  offi- 
cer.   But  he  seemed  to  be  dying. 

And  so,  leaping  from  their  rock,  the  two 
Am^ericans  landed  on  the  raft.  One  German 
tried  to  push  Jimmy  off,  but  was  sent  stagger- 
ing back  with  a  blow  in  the  face,  and  he  fell  over 
one  of  the  prostrate  figures.  Then  Eoger  over- 
came the  man  who  rushed  at  him,  and  for  the 
time  being  the  Khaki  Boys  were  victorious. 

But  the  situation  was  almost  chang'^d  for  the 
worse  a  moment  later.  The  under-officer,  cor- 
responding probably  to  an  American  second 
lieutenant,  raised  his  head  from  a  pool  of  blood 
and  cried,  in  German,  of  course : 

** Throw  off  the  American  pigs!" 

It  w^as  just  this  command  that  the  German 
privates  needed,  and  it  seemed  to  galvanize 
them  into  action.  The  four,  who  of  those  on 
the  raft  alone  seemed  to  be  unwounded,  sprang 


158    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


at  Jimmy  and  Eoger.  But  one  missed  his  foot- 
ing and  fell  lieavily.  This  left  only  three,  and 
two  of  them  sprang  at  Jimmy. 

But  once  more  luck  Avas  with  the  Khaki  Boys. 
With  a  flash  of  inspiration,  Roger,  as  he  saw 
hjs  antagonist  coming  at  him,  reached  in  his 
back  trousers  pocket  and  pulled  out  a  small 
nielde  oil-can  that  he  used  on  his  rifle.  Hold- 
ing it  out,  as  though  it  were  a  revolver,  Roger 
pointed  it  at  the  German's  head.  In  an  in- 
stant the  man's  hands  went  up,  and  he  cried: 

Pausing  not  an  instant  in  his  actions,  Roger 
dashed  his  fist,  oil  can  and  all  straight  into  the 
man's  free,  knocking  him  off  the  raft  and  into 
the  river. 

'*Now  I  can  help  you,  Jimmy!"  cried  Roger, 
and  he  sprang  to  the  assistance  of  his  chum. 
And  sorely  did  Jimmy  need  help,  for  the  two 
Germans  had  almost  overpowered  him  in  their 
endeavor  to  thrust  him  off  the  raft. 

With  desperate  energy  Roger  and  Jimmy 
fought  the  tAvo,  and  for  a  few  seconds  hard 
blows  were  given  and  taken  on  both  sides.  The 
wounded  officer  shouted  encouragement  to  his 
men,  but  the  desperate  plight  of  Rosrer  and 
Jimmy  made  them  fight  to  such  good  r^nd  that 
in  a  few  minutes  they  had  forced  their  assail- 
ants overboard. 

The  man  who  had  fallen  seemed  to  have  either 
broken   or  badly   strained   his   leg.     He   was 


THE  CAVE  FIGHT 159 

groaning  and  unable  to  rise,  and  this  left  no 
able-bodied  Germans  to  attack  Jimmy  and 
Roger.  They  were  satisfied  that  none  in  the 
party  of  Huns  was  armed,  and  so  they  had  the 
situation  well  in  hand. 

"Well,  this  is  a  little  better  than  being  on  the 
rock — after  we've  got  things  our  own  way,"  de- 
clared Jimmy,  as  he  began  to  get  his  breath 
back. 

"What's  to  be  done  now?"  asked  Roger, 
while  the  wounded  officer  glared  at  them. 

Jimmy  looked  down  the  foaming  river.  They 
were  in  a  wider  and  deeper  part  now,  and  the 
raft  was  swinging  in  toward  shore. 

"We'll  land  at  that  point  below,"  said  Jim- 
my, indicating  the  spot  m.eant.  "We  can  leap 
ashore,  and — well,  we  '11  have  to  trust  to  luck. ' ' 

"Yes,  I'll  feel  better  once  we  get  ashore," 
said  Roger. 

They  looked  at  the  figures  on  the  raft.  Some 
of  the  Germans  were  dead,  and  others,  appar- 
ently, dying.  There  was  nothing  Roger  and 
Jimmy  could  do,  and,  watching  their  chance, 
when  the  raft  was  within  a  few  feet  of  the  shore 
they  jumped  off. 

There  was  a  rope  fastened  to  one  end  of  the 
crude  craft,  and,  catching  hold  of  it  as  he 
leaped  ashore,  Jimmy  cried  to  the  officer: 

"Do  you  want  to  be  made  fast  here?" 

The  man  muttered  something  in  his  own 
tongue,  but  as  it  did  not  seem  to  be  an  answer 


160    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


in  the  affirmative  to  Jimmy's  question,  the  lad 
tossed  his  end  of  the  rope  on  the  raft  and  let 
the  strncture  go  floating  on  down  stream. 

''They'll  have  to  take  their  chance,  same  as 
we  did,"  remarked  Jimmy.  ''Though  I'd  have 
anchored  them  if  they'd  said  the  word." 

"They  may  be  rescued  by  friends  below 
here,"  suggested  Roger.  "And  now  what  are 
we  going  to  do?  It's  going  to  be  dark  soon,  and 
we  don't  know  which  way  to  go  to  get  back  to 
our  lines." 

"You  said  something  then!"  declared  Jimmy. 
"It's  going  to  rain,  too.  I  felt  a  few  drops. 
Say,  this  is  about  the  worst  plight  we've  been 
in  since  we  left  Camp  Sterling." 

"Oh,  it  might  be  worse!"  declared  Roger, 
with  as  much  optimism  as  he  could  muster. 
"Let's  hike  along  until  we  get  somewhere  and 
find  something  to  eat." 

"Say,  don't  get  sarcastic!"  begged  Jimmy. 

They  walked  up  the  river  bank  and  saw  a 
lonely  bit  of  country  stretching  before  them. 
There  did  not  appear  to  be  a  house  on  it,  but 
that  war  had  passed  that  way  was  made  evi- 
dent by  many  signs,  few  of  them  pleasant. 

"Let's  see  where  this  road  leads  to,"  sug- 
gested Jimmy,  pointing  to  one  that  did  not  ap- 
pear to  have  been  used  recently. 

"Might  as  well  take  it  as  any,"  agreed  Roger. 
"I  wish  it  led  to  a  can  of  beans  and  a  ham  sand- 


THE  CAVE  FIGHT  161 

"Don't  rab  it  in,"  groaned  Jimmy. 

They  were  tired,  wet,  and  hungry.  They 
were  exliansted  from  the  battle  in  which  they 
had  taken  part,  they  were  sore  from  the  treat- 
ment accorded  them  by  the  Bixtons,  and  they 
had  hardly  recovered  from  the  strenuous  bat- 
tle on  the  raft.  Still  they  did  not  give  up,  but 
tramped  on. 

They  passed  a  field  in  which  a  few  miserable 
turnips  were  growing,  and,  digging  out  some, 
they  ate  them.  Poor  as  this  food  was,  it  served 
to  put  a  little  more  life  into  them. 

It  was  getting  dusk  when,  as  they  were  going 
do"\\Ti  the  road,  they  heard  voices  ahead  of  them, 
around  a  turn.  Jimmy  and  Roger  looked  at 
one  another.  The  same  thought  was  in  the 
minds  of  both. 

Were  these  friends  or  foes? 

"Let's  hide  until  we  take  a  look,"  suggested 
Jimmy. 

"Hide  where?"  Roger  demanded. 

"Up  in  that  hole,  or  cave,"  went  on  Jimmy, 
pointing  to  one  that  showed  through  a  fringe  of 
bushes  in  the  face  of  a  hill  which  was  bordered 
by  the  road.  "We  can  stay  there  until  we  see 
who  is  here." 

In  the  fast-falling  darkness  they  scrambled 
up  the  hill  and  dodged  into  the  cave.  As  far 
as  they  could  tell  it  seemed  to  be  a  fairly  large 
one. 

"Look  down  and  see  if  you  can  make  out  who 


162    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

was  doing  that  talking,  Roger,"  Jimmy  di- 
rected. *'I  have  a  flashlight  in  my  pocket,  but 
I  gness  the  water's  put  it  out  of  business.  Oth- 
erwise, we  could  see  what  sort  of  place  we're 
in." 

Jimmy's  fears  regarding  the  light  were  only 
too  true.  It  was  useless  without  a  new  battery. 
Roger  looked  down  toward  the  road,  but  could 
see  nothing,  nor  did  they  hear  any  more  talk. 

They  were  debating  with  themselves  what 
was  best  to  do  when  it  began  to  rain  hard,  and 
Jimmy  said: 

"Well,  we  can  keep  dry  in  here,  or,  at  least, 
we  won't  get  any  wetter.  Good  thing  we  found 
this  cave  when  we  did.  But  I'd  like  to  have  a 
light  so  we  could  see  what  it  is.  Might  be  a 
whole  squad  of  Huns  in  here  for  all  we  know." 

*  *  Not  very  likely, ' '  decided  Roger,  ' '  If  there 
were  any  here  they'd  have  taclded  us  before 
this.     Say,  this  is  some  storm! 

"I'd  like  to  know  who  it  was  we  heard,"  con- 
tinued Roger,  when  he  and  his  chum  had  been 
in  the  cave  perhaps  half  an  hour. 

"So  would  I,"  assented  Jimmy.  "Well,  if 
it  stops  raining  we  can " 

He  came  to  a  sudden  pause,  and  Roger  under- 
stood why,  for  there  was  a  noise  in  the  rear  of 
the  cave.  It  was  the  sound  of  two  persons  talk- 
ing. And  the  Khaki  Boys,  looking  into  the 
blackness  back  of  them,  saw  the  glimmer  of  a 
light 


THE  CAVE  FIGHT 163 

''Look!  There  is  someone  in  here!*'  whis- 
pered Jimmy. 

''Let's  creep  back  and  see  who  it  is,"  advised 
Roo;er. 

Cautiously  they  made  their  way  back  toward 
the  faint  light.  It  increased  in  brightness  as 
they  neared  it,  and  then,  to  their  great  aston- 
ishment, they  saw  a  sort  of  room  fitted  up  in  the 
cave.  It  was  like  one  of  the  trench  dugouts, 
and  there  were  some  rude  chairs  and  a  table  in 
the  center  of  the  underground  apartment.  On 
the  table  stood  a  lantern,  but  it  was  the  sight  of 
the  two  figures  standing  beside  the  table  that 
gave  Roger  and  Jimmy  their  biggest  surprise. 

For  the  figures  were  none  other  than  those  of 
Wilbur  and  Aleck  Bixton ! 

The  two  scoundrels  had  set  their  rifles  in  a 
corner  of  the  cave  room  and  were  lo^  ^ing  at 
some  papers  they  had  spread  out  on  the  table. 
They  did  not  seem  to  feel  the  need  of  caution, 
and  spoke  aloud. 

"Well,"  romarked  Aleck,  "I  guess  by  this 
time  those  two  fellows  wish  they  hadn't  been 
so  active  in  making  trouble  for  poor  Mike." 

Wilbur  Bixton  nodded. 

"I  think  we  did  for  them  all  right,"  went  on 
Aleck.  "They'll  never  trouble  us  again.  But 
I  don't  see  what's  keeping  Carl  Anker.  He 
said  he'd  be  here  at  nine,  and  it's  long  past  that 
now. ' ' 

"Oh,  he  and  Fritz  Ammann  never  did  show 


164    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

up  on  time,"  remarked  Wilbur.  *'I  guess  well 
have  to  wait  for  'em.  We  ought  to  make  'em 
pay  big  f  "r  this  information.  It's  the  most  im- 
portant we've  handed  over  yet." 

"That's  right,"  agreed  his  brother.  "And 
Jook  at  the  risk  we  run.  They've  got  to  come 
across  with  more  money!" 

Roger  nudged  Jimmy  as  they  hid  in  a  dark 
corner,  and  Jimmy  signaled  back  that  he  recog- 
nized the  import  of  the  talk. 

Then  as  the  two  scoundrels  bent  lower  over 
the  table,  handling  a  number  of  papers,  Jimmy 
put  his  lips  to  Roger's  ear  and  whispered: 

"If  we  could  sneak  around  and  get  their 
guns,  we  could  make  prisoners  of  'em!" 

* '  That 's  right ! ' '  agreed  his  chum.  ' '  There 's 
some  black  work  going  on  here.  They  must 
have  come  to  this  cave  to  meet  two  men,  who, 
from  their  names,  are  Germans." 

"Not  so  loud!"  whispered  Jimmy.  "Come 
on  now!  We've  got  to  Avork  fast.  You  take 
one  gun  and  I'll  get  the  other.  Their  backs 
are  toward  us,  and  if  they  don't  hear  us  they 
can't  see  us.  Once  we  have  the  guns,  the  jig  is 
up  for  them." 

Slowly  and  cautiously,  in  the  semi-darkness, 
Roger  and  Jimmy  crept  forward.  They  were 
almost  at  the  weapons,  standing  in  a  corner 
behind  the  two  men  who  were  bending  over  the 
table,  when  suddenly  Roger's  foot  struck 
against  what  seomed  to  be  a  tin  ^an  lying  on 


THE  CAVE  FIGHT  165 


the  floor  of  the  cave.  There  was  a  loud,  metal- 
lic rattle. 

**AVho's  there?"  cried  Aleck,  springing  up 
and  wheeling  around. 

''Come  on!  Rush  for  it!"  yelled  Jinuny,  all 
need  of  silence  now  being  gone.  He  and  his 
chum  made  a  leap  for  the  guns,  but  Jimmy's 
foot  slipped  and  he  went  down. 

Wilbur  Bixton  turned  higher  the  flame  of 
the  lamp,  and  in  the  sudden  illumination  the 
two  brothers  saw  the  boys  they  had,  some 
hours  before,  dropped  over  the  cliff. 

For  an  instant  deadly  fear  showed  an  the 
faces  of  the  two  plotters.  But  as  they  realized 
that  Jimmy  and  Roger  were  not  ghosts,  the 
Bixtons  sprang  at  them  with  yells  of  rage. 

Then  in  the  cave  began  a  desperate  hand-to- 
hand  fight  I 


CHAPTER  XXI 

A  DESPEEATE  RESOLVE 

FORGETTING  for  the  moment  the  fact 
that  he  was  a  German  prisoner,  Bob  Dal- 
ton,  at  the  sight  of  the  long-lost  Franz 
Schnitzel,  rushed  forward  to  greet  his  Brother. 
The  two  clasped  hands  warmly. 
"Oh,  but  it's  good  to  see  you!"  cried  Franz. 
*  *  And  it 's  good  to  know  that  you  are — alive ! '  * 
Bob  hesitated  over  the  word.  For  poor  Franz 
did  not  seem  much  more  than  alive.  He  was 
wasted  away,  as  were  all  in  that  horrible  camp. 
In  the  American  army  they  had  been  well  fed, 
and  their  condition  showed  accordingly.  For 
some  time  Franz,  and  for  a  shorter  time.  Bob, 
had  been  fed  in  the  German  way — ^underfed,  and 
that  on  the  most  miserable  of  food. 

"How   did   it   happen   that  you  were   cap- 
tared!"  asked  Franz,  as  he  and  Bob  walked  off 

i66 


A   DESPERATE  RESOLVE  167 

a  little  by  themselves.  '*I  suppose  you  heard 
all  about  me." 

''Well,  not  exactly,"  Bob  answered,  "We 
heard  part  of  the  story  about  your  capturing 
some  Germans,  and  then  either  being  captured 
yourself,  or  else  disappearing — we  couldn't  be 
quite  sure  what  it  was.  We  hoped  you  were 
alive,  even  if  you  were  a  prisoner,  but  we 
couldn't  be  sure." 

*'0h,  I'm  a  prisoner  all  right,"  replied  Franz. 
''There's  no  question  about  that.  And  it  hap- 
pened just  like  that !  I  did  capture  some  Huns, 
but  another  party  came  along,  rescued  those  I 
had,  and  copped  me.  Then  I  was  brought  here, 
after  a  fearful  journey.  But  tell  me  about  your- 
self.   How  did  they  get  you?" 

Bob  told  of  the  blowing  up  of  the  farmhouse, 
his   unconsciousness   and   subsequent   capture. 

"Well,  I  guess  Roger,  Jimmy  and  Iggy  are 
the  only  ones  left  to  fight  the  Germans,"  sighed 
Franz. 

"I  don't  know  about  Iggy,"  replied  Bob.  *'I 
hope  he's  left." 

"Why,  what  do  yon  mean?  Are  Rodge  and 
Jimmy " 

Franz  hesitated  to  put  his  terrible  thought 
into  words. 

"We  don't  know  what  happened  to  them,'* 
said  Bob.  "They  weren't  to  be  found  after  one 
of  the  big  fights  we  had.  Whether  they  are 
killed  or  captured  we  don't  know.    For  a  time 


168    TEE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Iggj  and  I  were  the  only  two  left  of  the  original 
five.  Now  I'm  gone,  and  poor  Iggy  may  be  all 
alone.    Bnt  what  sort  of  camp  is  this?" 

**  About  as  bad  as  it  well  can  be,"  said  Franz 
gloomily.  "They  starve  lis,  beat  ns,  make  ns 
work,  and  do  everything  mean." 

''Any  chance  of  breaking  out?"  asked  Bob. 
And  then  as  he  looked  as  the  heavy  stockade 
and  the  bare,  electrically  charged  wires,  he 
added :  "I  guess  there  isn't,  or  you'd  have  tried 
it  long  ago." 

"Some  have  tried  it,"  said  Franz  in  a  low 
voice,  as  he  looked  around  to  make  sure  of  the 
persons  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  him- 
self and  Bob.  "Some  got  away — at  least,  they 
didn't  come  back  here.  Others  who  tried  to  get 
away  have  been  shot,  and  some  poor  fellows 
were  killed  on  the  electric  wires." 

"Well,  I  guess  we're  doomed  to  fetay  here 
then, ' '  and  B  ob  sighed.    "  But  it 's  tough  luck ! ' ' 

Once  more  Franz  looked  around.  And  then, 
to  Bob's  surprise,  his  companion  in  misery 
leaned  over  and  whispered : 

"There's  a  chance!  Just  a  bare  chance!  I 
can't  tell  you  any  more  now.  One  of  the  guards 
is  looking  at  us.  Lean  over  and  pretend  to  be 
t^ang  your  shoe!" 

Bob  did  so,  his  heart  thumping  hard  with  the 
sudden  rush  of  hope.    He  tried  to  act  naturally. 

"Look  at  these  shoes!"  he  exclaimed,  extend- 
ing his  foot  as  if  he  were  tying  a  loose  lace. 


A   DESPERATE  RESOLVE  169 

*'The  fellows  who  caught  me  took  my  good  ones 
and  left  me  with  these  paper  things.  They're 
nearly  half  'melted'  now." 

' '  I  had  the  same  luck, ' '  said  Franz,  exhibiting 
his  footwear,  which  was  in  the  same  condition 
as  was  Bob's.  **But  it's  all  part  of  the  fearful 
game.    Are  you  hungry?" 

'* Hungry?  Say,  that  word  doesn't  fit  at  all! 
I'm  starved!" 

Once  more  Franz  looked  cautiously  aliout. 
The  guard's  gaze  seemed  to  be  removed  now, 
and  the  young  prisoner  spoke  more  freely. 

"Come  along,"  he  said  to  Bob.  "There's  a 
vacant  bunk  next  to  mine.  You  want  to  cop  it 
while  you  have  the  chance,  then  we  can  be  to- 
gether. And  don't  breathe  a  word  of  this  to 
anyone,  but  I've  a  couple  of  chocolate  cakes 
hidden  away.  They're  great  for  staving  off  that 
starved  feeling," 

* ' Chocolate ! ' '  ejaculated  Bob.  "For  the  love 
of " 

"Hush!"  cried  Franz.  "Do  you  want  me  to 
be  robbed  of  itf  I  got  it  off  an  Englishman  who 
died,"  he  went  on.  "You  see  the  Red  Cross 
sends  packages  of  food  and  things  like  chocolate 
to  the  Allied  prisoners.  Sometimes  we  get  'em, 
and,  m.ore  often,  we  don't.  The  Huns  know  a 
good  thing  when  they  see  it.  But  this  English- 
man got  a  package  just  before  he  died,  and  when 
he  found  he  was  going  West  he  divided  it  out 
among  some  of  us.    I've  kept  my  chocolate  ever 


170    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

since,  though  many  a  day  I've  been  ahnost  wild 
to  eat  it. ' ' 

*  *  What  'd  you  save  it  for  ? ' '  asked  Bob.  * '  You 
didn't  know  I  was  coming." 

*'No,  but" — again  Franz  whispered — "I 
would  need  it  if  I  escaped,  I  was  saving  it  for 
that." 

*'And  you  think  there  isn't  a  chance  to  get 
away  noAv?" 

Franz  looked  around  and  cautiously  replied: 

**I  think  there's  a  chance,  but  there's  no  use 
dying  of  starvation  waiting  for  it.  I  heard  that 
there  is  to  be  another  distribution  of  food  pack- 
ets from  the  Red  Cross  soon.  We  can  save  some 
of  that,  if  we  get  anything,  and  take  it  with  us 
if  we're  lucky  enough  to  break  out.  Come  on, 
111  get  the  chocolate." 

Franz  led  the  way  to  one  of  the  barracks 
where  he  and  his  fellow  prisoners  were  herded. 
Herded  is  the  right  word,  too.  It  was  a  miser- 
able place.  Franz  went  to  his  ''bunk,"  which 
was  a  mere  apology  for  a  bed.  Looking  about, 
to  make  sure  he  was  not  observed,  he  removed 
a  loose  board  in  the  floor  and  took  out  a  package 
wrapped  in  some  old  rags.  In  the  package  wera 
two  cakes  of  sweet  chocolate. 

*'We'll  divide  one  now,  and  save  the  other," 
whispered  Franz.  *'No  telling  when  well  get 
more. ' ' 

Bob  never  would  have  believed  that  chocolate 
•ould  taste  so  good.     It  was  nourishing,  and 


A   DESPERATE  RESOLVE  171 

small  as  was  his  portion  and  that  of  Franz,  they 
both  felt  better  after  munching  the  confection 
and  drinking  some  water. 

Miserable  days  followed  Bob's  arrival  at  the 
prison  where  Franz  was  held.  In  common  with 
other  unfortunates,  the  Khaki  Boys  were 
starved,  beaten  at  times,  and  driven  forth  to 
labor  for  their  captors.  At  night  they  were 
herded  back  to  the  barracks. 

**I  don't  see  how  we're  ever  going  to  escape," 
sighed  Bob  one  night  after  a  wearying  day. 
*  *  I  'm  willing  to  give  up ! " 

* ' Don 't  say  that  I ' '  urged  Franz.  * '  This  very 
night  some  of  us  are  going  to  get  together  in 
the  dark  and  talk  matters  over.  I  have  a  plan. 
It  may  fail,  but  we  might  as  well  be  shot  while 
trying  to  escape  as  to  lead  the  life  we  do." 

This  information  seemed  to  bring  new  life  to 
Bob. 

And  that  night,  between  inspections  of  tlie 
guards,  a  silent  band  of  prison  conspirators  met 
in  a  dark  corner  of  the  barracks.  Franz  whis- 
pered to  them  his  plan  of  escape. 

'^What  do  you  think  of  if?"  he  asked. 

"It's  desperate,"  said  an  Englishman. 

"But  let's  try  it!"  suggested  another. 
"Otherwise  I  shall  go  mad!" 

And  so  the  daring  resolve  was  taken. 


CHAPTER  XXn 


THE  ESCAPE 


SILENTLY,  the  desperate  prisoners 
crouched  in  the  dark  corner  of  the  miser- 
able German  camp.  Their  hearts  that  had 
been  so  deep  in  despair  now  beat  with  new  hope. 
''Now  this  is  the  plan  in  detail,"  announced 
Franz.  "We  must  get  it  all  straight,  as  the 
least  slip  means  failure.  It 's  lucky  I  can  speak 
German  like  a  native.  I  always  despised  the 
language,  and  when  this  war  broke  out  and  I 
heard  the  terrible  things  the  Boches  were  doing 
I  was  ashamed  to  twist  my  tongue  to  the  lan- 
guage. But  now  it  comes  in  mighty  handy.  I 
think  I  can  fool  the  guard  at  the  barracks  where 
they  repair  the  uniforms.  Once  I  get  him  out  of 
the  way  it'll  be  fairly  clear  sailing.  We  can 
pass  out  in  the  dark,  and,  once  we  get  beyona 
these  hateful  wires,  it'll  be  the  best  chance  we 

172 


THE  ESCAPE  173 


could  hope  for.  Then  it'll  be  every  man  for 
himself,  for  it  won't  be  safe  for  so  many  of  ns 
to  stick  together,  even  if  we  are  in  German 
uniforms.    Now  does  everyone  understand  it!" 

They  all  said  they  did,  and  then,  as  it  w^as 
risky  to  remain  any  longer  away  from  their 
sleeping  quarters,  they  silently  stole  back  to 
their  miserable  pallets.  But  there  was  hope 
now,  where  they  had  had  only  despair  before. 

In  brief,  the  plan  made  by  Franz  and  some  of 
his  companions  was  this.  Not  all  in  the  prison 
pen  could  be  included,  as  there  were  too  many  of 
thrm.  Some  refused  to  take  the  chance,  and 
others  had  plans  of  their  own  for  getting  away. 

Franz  could,  as  he  said,  speak  German  like  a 
native.  He  had  formed  a  plot  to  overpower  the 
officer  on  guard  at  the  shop  where  German 
uniforms  were  repaired.  Then  Franz  hoped  to 
be  able  to  get  inside  the  shop,  pass  out  a  number 
of  German  suits  to  his  companions,  don  one 
himself,  and,  under  some  pretense,  lead  the  dar- 
ing band  out  of  the  pen  under  cover  of  darkness. 

Such  was  the  bare  outline  of  the  plot,  but 
there  were  many  side  issues  which  rendered  it 
much  more  hazardous  than  it  sounds. 

Among  the  many  tasks  the  Allied  prisoners 
were  set  at  in  the  German  detention  camps  was 
the  repairing  of  German  uniforms.  The  Huns 
were  hard  put,  after  the  first  two  years  of  war, 
to  provide  cl) thing  for  their  troops.  And,  as 
the  Allies  did  later,  the  Boches  formulated  a 


174    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


salvage  plan.  That  is,  the  imiforms,  when  not 
too  badly  damaged,  were  taken  from  the  dead 
bodies  of  uieir  soldiers  and  sent  to  the  rear  to 
be  cleaned,  mended,  and  put  in  shape,  to  be 
igsued  to  men  whose  clothing  had  worn  out  in 
service. 

Franz,  Bob,  and  some  of  the  others  worked 
day  after  day  remalring  these  uniforms,  and 
they  knew  the  inside  and  outside  of  the  barracks 
shop  where  the  uniforms  were  revamped  and 
stored  against  the  time  of  need. 

After  dark  the  uniform  shpp  was  deserted, 
but  it  was  guarded  generally  by  but  one  officer, 
as  it  was  somewhat  removed  from  the  prison- 
ers' sleeping  places. 

Franz  planned  to  steal  up  on  this  officer  as 
he  was  on  duty  in  front  of  the  uniform  building, 
overpower  him  in  the  most  silent  way  possible, 
and  then  don  his  uniform.  He  would  hide  liis 
own  miserable  suit  some  place,  and  also  drag 
the  body  of  the  officer  out  of  sight. 

Once  attired  as  a  German  officer  and  ivith  his 
knowledge  of  the  language,  Franz  could  move 
about  the  prison  yard  freely.  He  hoped  he 
would  not  have  to  do  much  talking,  however, 
as  he  did  not  know  what  orders  the  uniform 
guard  might  be  under. 

However,  Franz  intended  to  work  quickly. 
Once  he  was  attired  as  a  Huh,  thou^'h  he  hated 
the  uniform,  it  was  his  idea  to  slip  into  the  shop 
and  bring  out  two  other  uniforms.    Bob  would 


THE  ESCAPE  1T5 


put  on  one,  and  one  of  the  other  conspirators 
the  remaining  suit.  Then  the  trio  could  moTs 
about  with  but  little  danger  of  detection. 

Franz  then  proposed  that  he,  Bob,  and  their 
companion  should  bring  from  the  shop  enough 
German  uniforms  to  fit  all  who  were  going  to 
try  to  esoape  in  this  way.  They  would  don  them 
in  their  sleeping  quarters,  and  then,  under  cover 
of  darkness,  would  be  led  boldly  to  the  main 
entrance  of  the  prison  pen  by  Franz. 

Here  was  the  weakest  and  most  dangerous 
part  of  the  plot.  If  for  any  reason  the  guard 
at  the  gate  suspected  anything  they  would  all 
be  shot  down  without  mercy. 

But  here  again  Franz  counted  on  his  knowl- 
edge of  German.  It  waa  often  the  practice  f-or 
squads  of  German  soldiers  to  march  into  and 
out  of  the  yard  under  the  guidance  of  an  officer, 
and  Franz  hoped  he  and  his  friends  would  be 
taken  for  one  of  these  parties.  He  could  give 
the  guard  at  the  gate  any  reason  that  seemed 
feasible  for  taking  the  men  out  at  night.  All  the 
prisoners  were  soldiers.  They  could  march  in 
a  squad  like  the  Germans,  and,  though  they 
might  not  be  able  to  do  the  ''goose  step,"  there 
would  be  no  need  for  that. 

*'Well,  we've  got  to  take  the  chance,"  said 
Franz,  as  he  and  Bob  turned  in  on  their  pallets. 

''Yes,  it's  worth  taking  a  lot  of  chances  to  get 
out  of  this  hole,"  was  the  answer. 

How  they  lived  through  the  next  day  Bob, 


176    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Franz,  and  the  others  in  the  plot  hardly  recalled 
afterward.  They  were  wistfully  anxious  for 
night  to  come,  and  terribly  worried  lest  by  some 
chance  the  plan  might  be  spoiled. 

But  fate  seemed  to  favor  them.  None  of  them 
was  sent,  as  sometimes  was  the  case,  to  labor  in 
distant  mines.  They  were  all  kept  at  tasks 
within  or  near  the  prison  enclosure,  and,  to  their 
delight.  Bob  and  Franz  were  put  at  work  sewing 
buttons  on  revamped  uniforms. 

This  gave  them  a  chance  to  note  that  an 
unusual  number  of  repaired  suits  were  ready  to 
be  issued.  This  was  another  matter  that  had 
worried  Franz.  Sometimes  the  stock  of  avail- 
able uniforms  in  the  shop  was  exhautsed.  If 
that  had  occurred  at  this  time  there  would  have 
been  none  for  the  escaping  prisoners. 

"There's  enough  here  for  all  of  us,"  Franz 
remarked  to  Bob,  as  they  stopped  work  that 
night. 

They  filed  in  to  their  meagre  supper,  as  did 
all  the  prisoners,  and,  hungry  as  they  all  were, 
each  one  managed  to  smuggle  away  a  small 
piece  of  bread,  or  what  passed  for  it,  and  some 
other  food.  For  some  days  past  they  had  been 
hoarding  such  victuals  as  they  could,  for,  once 
escaped,  they  must  hide  in  holes,  live  the  best 
way  they  could,  and  subsist  on  what  they  found 
until  they  could  reach  Holland  or  get  back  to 
the  American  lines.  And  they  all  hoped  to  be 
able  to  do  this,  rather  than  reach  the  neutral 


THE  ESCAPE  177 


Netherlands,   where   they  would  be  interned. 

It  may  well  be  imagined  that  none  of  those 
in  the  plot  to  escape  slept  that  night.  The  hour 
for  the  trial  was  set  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, that  being  the  time  when  the  guards  would 
be  least  on  the  alert. 

And,  much  as  rain  was  hated,  everyone  was 
glad  when  it  began  to  drizzle  shortly  after 
midnight.  This  meant  that  the  guards  would 
seek  such  shelter  as  was  available  on  their  posts, 
and  not  be  quite  so  alert  as  they  would  be  were 
the  night  fine. 

*'So  far  so  good!"  whispered  Franz  to  Bob, 
as  the  time  drew  near.  ^'I'm  going  to  start 
now.'' 

He  slipped  from  his  hard  bed  and  silently 
made  his  way  to  the  door.  Franz  knew  the 
habits  of  the  guard  there.  He  generally  was 
dozing  off  at  this  hour,  though  it  was  against 
the  rules.  But  as  no  escape  had  been  attempted 
in  a  long  time,  a  little  carelessness  had  crept 
into  the  iron  discipline. 

As  silently  as  a  cat  Franz  crept  up  on  this 
guard.  In  his  hand  the  Khaki  Boy  carried  a  file 
that  had  been  worn  down  to  what  constituted 
a  dagger  with  a  needle  point.  There  was  so 
slight  a  struggle  and  commotion  at  the  entrance 
of  the  barracks  that  Bob  and  the  others,  breath- 
lessly waiting,  hardly  heard  it.  Franz  shud- 
dered at  the  deed  he  had  been  obliged  to  commit, 
but  it  was  either  his  life  or  the  guard's. 


178    THS  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

The  lifeless  body  was  dragged  out  of  the 
way,  and  then  Franz  crawled  from  the  building. 
It  was  raining  harder  than  ever  now,  and  he 
was  glad  of  it.  Quickly  he  made  his  way 
through  the  darkness  to  the  clothing  shor).  He 
was  not  stopped,  and  for  this  he  was  also  glad. 
For  though  he  might  have  got  past  a  sentry  in 
the  blackness  by  giving  some  excuse,  in  German, 
for  walking  around,  there  would  have  been 
grave  danger  of  discovery.  But,  as  it  was, 
Franz  found  himself  at  the  clothing  depot,  and 
then  he  began  to  look  for  the  guard. 

^'The  most  likely  place  he'll  be  will  be  in  the 
shelter  of  the  doorway,  out  of  the  wet  as  much 
as  possible,'^  mused  Franz.  **I'll  tackle  him 
there." 

As  he  approached  the  door  to  the  shop  a 
figure  stepped  from  the  doorway,  just  as  he 
expected. 

"Haiti  Who  comes?''  demanded  the  under- 
officer  in  German,  as  he  brought  his  rifle  around 
ready  for  instant  use. 

*'I  have  some  important  information  for 
you,"  said  Franz,  speaking  in  the  tongue  he 
hated.    **Hush!  do  not  make  an  alarm." 

As  he  spoke  he  drew  near  to  the  officer  with 
the  sharp-pointed  file  in  readiness. 

"What  is  the  information,  and  who  are  you?'^ 
asked  the  officer,  who  was  a  corporal. 

"This!"  exclaimed  Franz,  and  he  struck  true 
and  hard. 


THE  ESCAPE  179 


There  was  a  gasping,  choking  cry,  hardly 
audible  above  the  sighing  of  the  wind  and  the 
patter  of  the  rain. 

''I — I  hope  I  don't  have  to  do  this  again," 
thought  Franz  with  a  shudder.  ''It  isn't  like 
killing  men  in  battle.    But  it  has  to  be ! " 

The  way  was  now  clear  for  him.  As  quickly 
as  he  could  he  stripped  off  the  corporal's  uni- 
form and  Jonned  it  in  place  of  his  own  rags. 
These  latter  1  o  tossed  under  the  building,  whv:re 
he  also  hid  the  body. 

Possessing  himself  of  the  officer's  keys  Franz 
hurried  into  the  shop.  Fortunately  he  loiew  his 
way  about  even  in  the  dark,  and  he  caught  up 
two  complete  uniforms  and  two  long  coats  from 
a  pile  he  had  noticed  that  afternoon  near  the 
door,  where  they  were  stacked  ready  to  be 
shipped  out  in  the  morning. 

Hurrying  back  to  the  sleeping  shack,  clad  in 
the  dead  officer's  uniform,  Franz  carried  with 
him  the  two  other  outfits  he  had  picked  up. 
Quickly  Bob  and  a  man  named  Rayburn  donned 
these  suits,  and  then,  in  the  darkness  and  rain, 
they  carried  away  enough  uniforms  to  fit  out  the 
entire  escaping  party. 

Feverishly  the  men  worked  to  get  into  them, 
and  at  last  they  were  outfitted.  They  were 
ready  to  be  led  to  freedom  by  Franz  now,  if 
only  fate  were  kind  to  them. 

"Ail  here?"  asked  Franz  in  a  whisper. 

"All  here,"  answered  Bob,  who  had  kept 


180    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN^ 

count.  Some  of  the  other  prisoners  awoke,  but 
none  would  join  the  escaping  party.  They  re- 
garded the  chances  as  too  slim,  and  they  knew 
what  the  result  would  be  if  they  were  caught. 

Out  into  the  rain  and  darkness  Franz  led  his 
"squad  of  "German"  soldiers.  Boldly  th^y  ap- 
proached the  gate.  It  was  the  crucial  moment. 
Would  they  be  stopped? 

The  sentry  came  out  of  his  little  box  as  Fran2s 
led  his  men  up  in  double  file. 

"Halt!"  came  the  command,  and  Franz  re- 
peated it. 

"Who  goes?"  demanded  the  sentry. 

"A  party  from  the  prison  commandant's 
quarters  to  bring  in  a  squad  of  American  pris- 
oners," answered  Franz.  "Our  brave  fellows 
have  captured  some  more  of  the  swine. ' ' 

"Good!"  grunted  the  sentry.  "They  ought 
all  be  shot.  You  have  an  order,  of  course  ?  "  he 
asked. 

"Yes,"  answered  Franz,  and  for  a  moment 
his  heart  went  cold.  He  had  not  thought  of  this. 
In  desperation  he  put  his  hand  in  the  pocket  of 
the  overcoat  he  had  taken  from  the  dead  officer. 

Franz  was  about  to  take  out  the  deadly  file, 
and  use  it  for  the  third  time,  but  as  he  felt  for 
it  his  fingers  encountered  a  paper.  He  did  not 
know  what  it  was,  but  he  would  take  a  chance. 
At  any  rate  it  would  be  something  in  German. 

Boldly  he  took  it  out  and  offered  it  to  the 
guard  at  the  gate.    Had  there  been  any  slip  here 


THE  ESCAPE  181 


Franz  was  ready  to  kill  the  sentry  at  once.  Bnt 
the  latter  was  intent  on  getting  what  lie  sup- 
posed was  an  order  permitting  a  squad  of  Ger- 
iiitm  aoldiers  to  pass  out.  He  took  the  document 
from  Franz's  shaking  hand. 

''It  is  too  dark  to  read,"  spluttered  the  guard. 
"And  my  flashlamp  is  broken.    Pass  on!" 

"Forward,  march!"  ordered  Franz,  in  Ger- 
man. And  hoAv  those  words  thrilled  the  prison- 
ers !  They  filed  past  the  sentry  who  had  turned 
to  go  back  into  his  little  box.  Then,  as  Bob,  who 
brought  up  the  rear,  was  about  to  go  through 
the  gate  wl  icli  the  sentry  had  unlocked,  some- 
thing seemed  to  strike  the  gniard  as  wrong. 

"Your  men  have  no  guns,  corporal,"  he  said. 
"And  to  bring  in  prisoners " 

' '  Bah !  An  unarmed  German  is  a  match  for 
any  number  of  the  swine-dogs!"  returned 
Franz. 

' '  Right !    Pass  on ! "  chuckled  the  guard. 

And  the  prisoners  were  outside  the  gate ! 


CHAPTER  XXni 

THE  SECRET  PACT 

JIMMY  and  Roger,  fighting  in  the  cave  with 
the  Bixtons,  never  afterwaid  conld  tell 
exactly  how  it  happened.  Ce vtainly  by  all 
mles  and  regulations  of  personal  encounters  it 
ought  to  have  been  easy  for  the  two  scoundrels, 
physically  comparatively  fresh,  as  they  were, 
to  have  overcome  the  Khald  Boys,  who  were 
well-nigh  exhausted. 

But  if  it  is  true  that  fear  lends  strength,  so 
does  righteous  rage,  and  the  Khald  Boys  pos- 
sessed this  in  full  measure  as  they  thought  of 
not  only  what  the  two  brothers  had  done  to 
them  personally,  but  their  traitorous  conduct 
toward  their  country. 

"Hit,  and  hit  hard!"  cried  Jimmy,  as  he 
sprang  at  Aleck. 
"I'm  mth  you !"  sang  out  Roger. 
Fists  crashed  to  faces,  there  were  body  blows, 
182 


THE  SECRET  PACT 188 

figures  leaped  back  and  forth,  casting  fantastic 
shadows  in  the  gleam  of  the  lantern.  There 
were  cries  of  rage  and  grunts  of  pain.  But, 
once  started,  the  fight  never  slackened. 

**WeVe  got  to  down  'em  this  time,  sure!'' 
panted  Wilbur,  as  Koger  sent  him  back  against 
the  cave  wall  with  a  staggering  blow. 

"Oh,  we'll  down  'em!"  gasped  Aleck,  but  in 
his  heart  he  knew  the  fight  was  going  against 
liim. 

Once  more  the  four  met  in  the  middle  of  the 
cave.  Jimmy  saw  his  chance  when  Aleck  low- 
ered his  guard  for  an  instant,  and  then  the  fist 
of  the  Khaki  Boy  went  full  and  fair  to  the  chin 
of  the  plotter. 

For  an  instant  Aleck  seemed  to  stand  motion- 
less, and  then,  with  a  dazed  look  on  his  face, 
he  sank  to  the  floor,  murmuring : 

*'I'mout!" 

And  out  he  was.  No  counting  off  of  the  ten 
seconds  by  a  referee  was  necessary.  Jimmy 
had  delivered  a  knockout  blow  to  his  antagonist. 
At  first  the  sergeant  thought  his  enemy  might 
be  dissembling,  but  a  glance  at  the  prostrate 
figure  showed  that  Aleck  was  not  feigning.  He 
was  unconscious. 

''I'll  do  for  you  now!"  fairly  roared  Wilbur, 
as  he  came  back  with  a  rush  at  Roger.  The 
latter  was  in  a  bad  way,  for  he  had  slipped  and 
had  sustained  a  terrific  blow  from  Wilbur's  fisf. 
But  the  remaining  Bixton  had  not  counted  on 


184    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Jimmy,  and  now  Roger's  chum  could  come  to 
his  aid.    And  this  Jimmy  did. 

As  Wilbur  swung  past  him,  to  deliver  what  he 
hoped  would  be  a  finishing  blow  to  Roger, 
Jimmy  put  out  his  foot  and  tripped  the  scoun- 
drel. 

Wilbur  went  down  heavily,  the  breath  being 
driven  from  his  body.  His  head  struck  against 
a  table  leg,  so  stunning  him  that  it  was  an  easy 
matter  for  Roger  and  Jimmy  to  leap  on  him  and 
secure  him.  Roger,  greatly  exhausted,  sat  on 
Bixton's  chest. 

**I — I'm  all  in!  I  quit!"  the  signal  corps 
man  gasped.    "Let  me  get  up!" 

"Not  much!"  panted  Jimmy.     "We've  got 
you  where  we  want  you  now.    Lively,  Roger. 
We've  got  to  bind  and  gag  these  fellows." 
"What's  the  idea  of  gagging  themf 
"So  they  won't  tell  we're  here." 
"Tell  who  we're  here?"  asked  Roger,  who 
did  not  get  his  chum's  meaning. 

"The  Germans  who  are  coming  here  to  carry 
out  some  secret  pact.  You  know  what  we  over- 
heard these  fellows  saying.  Well,  now  I'm  go- 
ing to  hide  here  and  see  the  show  out  when  the 
Heinies  arrive.  We'll  bind  these  fellows  and 
hide  'em.  Then  we'll  wait  for  Mr.  Carl  Anker 
and  Mr.  Fritz  Ammann,  whoever  they  may 
be." 

At  the  mention  of  these  names  Wilbur  Bixton 
squirmed,  and  tried  to  shake  off  Roger. 


THE  SECRET  PACT  185 

^ '  That  '11  be  about  all  from  you ! ' '  cried  Jimmy 
in  anger.  ''Either  you'll  lie  still,  you  dirty 
traitor,  or  we'll  put  an  end  to  this  right  now! 
You  tried  to  kill  Roger  and  me,  and  we  won't 
show  you  any  more  mercy  than  we  would  a  wild 
beast.    Now  lie  still ! ' ' 

He  sprang  up  and  took  one  of  the  two  riJfles. 

"It's  all  up!"  said  AVilbur,  and  his  voice  was 
Hopeless.    * '  You  fellows  win. ' ' 

*'We  haven't  taken  all  the  tricks  yet,"  ob- 
served Jimmy  grimly.  *'The  game  has  only 
just  started.  Now,  Roger,  as  soon  as  you  get 
your  breath,  take  off  his  uniform  and  slip  it  on 
yourself.  I  '11  do  the  same  for  the  other — dog ! ' ' 
he  added  contemptuously. 

"What's  the  idea  of  changing  clothes?" 
asked  Roger. 

"There  are  two  ideas  in  this,"  answered 
Jimmy.  "One  is  that  our  uniforms  are  wet 
and  theirs  are  dry.  Since  they  are  to  blame 
for  the  wet  suits,  it's  only  fair  that  they  should 
wear  'em.  But  we  won't  take  the  trouble  to 
re-dress  'em.  Let  'em  lie  in  their  underclothes. 
It  isn't  cold  in  here." 

There  was  a  sound  from  Aleck,  which  seemed 
to  indicate  that  he  was  regaining  consciousness. 
Jimmy  quickly  secured  the  other  rifle,  and  then, 
having  made  sure  that  the  Bixtons  were  un- 
armed, the  work  of  changing  uniforms  was 
begun. 

While  Jimmy  stood  on  the  alert  with  the 


186    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

rifle,  Roger  stripped  off  Wilbur's  signal  corps 
uniform.  Then  Roger  changed  down  to  his  skin, 
wringing  out  his  wet  underwear  and  hanging 
it  over  a  chair  to  dry.  Next  he  donned  the 
signal  corps  man's  uniform  without  taking  time 
to  first  clothe  himself  in  undergarments. 

Wilbur  was  bound  and  gagged,  being  dragged 
to  a  dark  corner  of  the  cave.  Then  the  same 
treatment  was  given  Aleck,  who  came  to  his 
senses  as  he  was  being  bound,  and  murmured : 

''Did  we  do  'em,  AVill?" 

''I'll  answer  for  your  brother,"  said  Jimmy. 
"He's  sort  of  incapacitated  just  now,  as  you'll 
be  a  little  later.  No,  you  didn't  do  for  us,  and 
you  can't  now.    The  jig  is  up  for  you  fellows." 

Aleck  did  not  answer,  and  soon  he  was  lying 
beside  his  rascally  brother,  incapable  of  move- 
ment or  speech.  Roger  and  Jimmy  now  wore 
dry  uniforms,  and  the  change  was  grateful. 

"Well,  so  far  so  good,"  murmured  Roger,  as 
he  and  his  chum  found  time  to  rest  themselves 
and  catch  their  breath.  "Hello,  chocolate  in 
this  pocket ! "  he  cried,  as  he  felt  a  cake  in  the 
pocket  of  the  uniform  Wilbur  had  worn. 

"Hope  I  have  the  same  luck,"  said  Jimmy. 
"Yes,"  he  added  a  moment  later,  "I've  got 
some,  too.    Say,  this  will  come  in  mighty  fine !" 

"Well,  now  what's  the  game?"  asked  Roger, 
as  he  glanced  at  his  chum.  "How  much  longer 
are  we  going  to  stay  here  f ' ' 

"Until  the  two  men,  probably  Germans,  whom 


THE  SECRET  PACT  187 


the  Bixtons  were  to  meet  here,  show  up,"  was 
the  answer. 

''And  then  what?" 

''Well,  as  soon  as  we  hear  them  coming  in 
we'll  douse  the  glim." 

"What's  the  idea?  Think  we  can  fight  'em 
better  in  the  dark  ? ' ' 

"No,  but  they  won't  be  so  apt  to  notice  that 
we  aren't  the  same  signal  corps  fellows  they 
expected  to  meet.  It's  possible  one  of  the  Huns 
may  have  a  pocket  flashlight — very  probable,  in 
fact.  But  that  won 't  be  very  likely  to  give  the 
game  away.  They'll  see  two  signal  corps  uni- 
forms, and  they'll  take  us  for  the  Bixtons,  I 
hope." 

"I  hate  to  be  taken  for  such  mean  skunks!" 

"It's  in  a  good  cause,"  replied  his  chum. 
"That's  the  only  way  we  can  get  to  the  bottom 
of  this  game — and  there's  some  rotten  game 
going  on,  I'm  satisfied  of  that." 

"I  guess  you're  right,"  agreed  Roger.  "So 
you  plan  to  let  the  two  men  come  in  here,  think- 
ing we're  the  Bixtons  they're  to  meet,  and  get 
their  secret  out  of  'em  that  way?" 

"If  they'll  talk,  and  don't  get  suspicious, 
yes. ' ' 

"There  must  be  two  entrances  to  this  cave," 
said  Roger. 

"Yes,  and  maybe  more,"  agreed  his  com- 
panion. "We  cam.e  in  by  one — the  one  nearest 
the  river.     The  Bixtons  came  in  by  a  second, 


188    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

and  the  Germans  may  come  in  by  a  third.  All 
we  have  to  do  is  wait.^' 

And  Jimmy  and  Roger  were  glad  enongh  to 
do  this,  for  they  had  been  through  some  strenu- 
ous times  in  the  last  few  hours.  But  the  dry 
clothing,  though  it  was  exceedingly  rough  with- 
ont  underwear,  gave  warmth  to  their  chilled 
bodies,  and  the  chocolate  had  bolstered  up  their 
fagging  energies. 

Together  they  sat  and  waited  in  the  cave, 
wondering  when  the  two  expected  men  would 
come  and  what  would  happen  after  they  arrived. 
They  talked  in  low  voices,  and  speculated  as  to 
the  fate  of  their  comrades. 

And  much  the  same  sort  of  speculation  was 
going  on  in  the  minds  of  Bob  and  Franz  and 
also  poor  Iggy,  who  alone  of  the  five  Brothers, 
was  left  with  his  command. 

"First  we  are  of  a  five,  like  a  hand,"  mused 
the  Polish  lad.  ''Then  we  iss  of  a  four  when 
Franz  goes  away.  And  den  we  is  of  a  two  when 
Jimmy  and  Roger  no  more  comes  back.  And 
den  Bob,  he  goes  away,  and  I  iss  alone.  Py 
jolly,  maybe  it  iss  my  turns  next!" 

Roger  and  Jimmy,  sitting  in  the  cave  with  the 
light  turned  low,  presently  hieard  a  slight  noise. 
At  first  they  imagined  it  was  made  by  one  of 
their  prisoners,  but  a  moment  of  listening  told 
them  it  was  from  another  source. 

"The  Fritzies  are  coming!"  whispered 
Roger. 


THE  SECUET  PACT 189 

"Be  ready,'*  advised  his  clrnm.    **Have  you 

the  rifle?"  " 

'*Yes;  and  AVilbur's  revolver,  too." 

''Good!  Here  they  are,  and  out  goes  the 
glim!" 

As  he  spoke  Jimmy  turned  down  the  lantern 
completely,  and  there  followed  a  guttural  excla- 
mation. 

*'Why  is  the  darknessf"  asked  a  voice  in 
English.    *  *  Are  you  there  Herren  Bixtons  ? ' ' 

"Um,"  murmured  Jimmy,  nudging  Roger. 

''What  is  the  matter?"  asked  the  voice  of  the 
unseen  one  again.  "You  tell  us  to  meet  you 
here,  and  yet  you  have  no  light" 

"Out  of  oil,"  growled  Jimmy.  "Mayhe  you 
have  a  flashlight." 

"It  is  out  of  oil,  too!"  laughed  a  second  man, 
and  both  voices  had  an  unmistakable  German 
accent,  though  English  was  spoken  fluently 
enough.  "It  gives  but  a  little  glow.  But  we 
have  matches,  and  if  there  is  a  bit  of  a 
candle " 

"No  candle!"  returned  Jimmy,  trying  to  dis- 
guise his  voice.  "Nothing  seems  to  burn  in  this 
rotten  hole  of  a  cave,"  he  went  on.  "It's  as 
damp  as  a  swamp.  I've  caught  such  a  cold  I 
can  hardly  speak." 

"I  was  wondering  what  was  the  matter  with 
your  voice,  Herr  Wilbur,"  went  on  the  voice. 
"Well,  we  are  here,  and  we  do  not  need  to  stay 
long,  I  suppose.     It  is  not  a  nice  place.     As 


190    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

you  say  it  is  damp,  and,  too,  there  is  always 
danger  of  discovery.  Yon  have  brought  the 
information  we  want,  I  dare  say?"  was  the 
question. 

''Did  you  bring  more  money?"  demanded 
Jimmy,  making  his  tones  hoarse.  ''We've  got 
to  have  more  money,  Mr. — er — Ammann." 

To  his  surprise  the  man  laughed.  What  could 
occasion  mirth  at  a  time  like  this?  Was  the 
trick  of  Roger  and  Jimmy  discovered? 

The  next  moment  he  felt  a  wave  of  relief  as 
the  man  said : 

" Ach!  that's  what  you  always  do,  even  in 
daylight — ^mistake  me,  Herr  Anker,  for  Herr 
Ammann.  You  Americans  are  not  so  smart  as 
you  all  think,  not  to  know  us  apart." 

Then  Jimmy  knew  he  had  played  to  pure  luck, 
and  he  was  filled  with  delight. 

"Well,  did  3^ou  bring  the  money?"  asked 
Jimmy,  following  a  lead  given  him  by  the  two 
prisoners  now  bound  and  gagged. 

"Yes,  we  have  a  little  more,"  answered  the 
other  German.  "But  it  is  hard  to  get  now. 
Here  it  is — in  gold.  Now  you  have  the  plans 
all  made  for  sending  up  the  smoke  signals, 
yes?" 

"We  have  plans,  yes,"  answered  Jimmy. 
But  he  did  not  say  what  plans  they  were.  Inci- 
dentally, they  involved  the  capture  of  Herr 
Anker  and  Herr  Ammann. 

"Ah!  Good!"  murmured  the  one  who  had 


THE  SECRET  PACT 191 

described  himself  as  Anker.  "You  are  doing 
a  good  deed,"  he  went  on  as  he  came  up  to  the 
table  where  Jimmy  and  Bob  were  seated  and 
sat  down.  He  had  drawn  from  his  pocket  a 
flashlamp,  but  the  battery  was  so  nearly  ex- 
hausted that  it  gave  scarcely  more  light  than  a 
firefly.  Jimmy  was  not  afraid  of  detection  in 
that  illumination.  *'Yes,  it  is  a  good  deed," 
the  German  repeated.  *'For,  by  enabling  our 
troops  to  the  more  quickly  gain  a  victory,  you 
are  bringing  peace  nearer,  and  you  will  thus 
save  many  lives. ' ' 

'*Um!"  grunted  Jimmy.  He  saw  now  how 
the  Germans,  by  this  sort  of  flattery  and  reason- 
ing, had  led  on  the  Bixtons.  But,  indeed,  it 
required  little  to  corrupt  those  already  evil. 

**Now  let  us  make  sure  all  is  right,"  went  on 
one  of  the  Germans,  as  they  sat  across  the  table 
from  Eoger  and  Jimmy  in  what  was  almost 
total  darkness.  "We  bring  you  the  money  for 
the  plans  of  the  smoke  signals.  They  are  here — 
you  have  them?"  he  asked. 

Jimmy  had  discovered  a  bundle  of  papers  in 
the  coat  he  had  taken  from  Aleck,  and,  guess- 
ing them  to  be  what  was  wanted,  drew  them  out 
and  laid  them  on  the  table.  But  if  they  should 
be  plans  that  ought  not  to  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  Huns,  Jimmy  had  no  intention  of  letting 
Anker  and  Ammann  get  away  with  them. 

"If  you  will  repeat  the  plans,  then  we  will  be 
sure  we  understand,  my  friends,"  suggested 


192    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Aimnann.  *' Sometimes  in  translating  there  is 
a  mix-np.  Now  you  will  send  up  the  balls  of 
smokOy  as  you  agreed,  to  let  our  gunners  know 
where  the  American  batteries  and  ammunition 
dumps  are,  is  it  not  sol  A  green  ball  for  an 
ammunition  dump,  and  a  red  ball  to  tell  where 
there  is  a  battery.  Two  white  balls  will  mean 
that  the  previous  signals  are  to  be  disregarded, 
and  we  start  afresh.  That  is  what  you  said, 
last  time.    There  has  been  no  change  V^ 

"Um — er — no  change,"  said  Jimmy  grimly, 
but,  he  reflected,  there  was  about  to  be  a  great 
change. 

''Well,  if  that  is  all,  we  shall  take  the  papers 
and  give  you  the  money  we  have  brought,"  said 
Ammann.  "Then  we  shall  go.  And  next  we 
will  meet  a  "week  from  to-night,  but  in  a  new 
place.  This  is  getting  unsafe.  We  had  hard 
work  to  get  here.  Your  lines  are  too  close.  Bitt 
they  will  soon  be  loosed,  when  we  shell  the  bat- 
teries as  your  smoke  signals  tell  us  the  location. 
Ah,  it  is  the  only  way  to  end  the  war  and  make 
friends  of  enemies!  The  more  we  kill  the 
sooner  the  battles  will  end." 

As  he  spoke  he  shoved  forward  a  bag  that 
clinked  metallicly.  Jimmy  held  out  the  bundle 
of  papers,  dimly  visible  in  the  faint  light. 

Jimmy  trod  on  Roger's  foot  under  the  table. 
They  had  learned  all  they  needed  to  know.  It 
was  now  very  plain. 

For  German  gold  the  Bixlons  had  betrayed 


THE  SECRET  PACT 193 

their  country,  thoy  had  indicated  the  secret 
location  of  batteries  and  other  engines  of  war, 
enabling  the  Huns  to  land  their  destroying 
shells  accurately.  The  Bixtons,  by  means  of  the 
smoke  signals  to  which  they  had  access  and 
which  they  could  send  up  secretly,  had  given 
the  Germans  the  exact  information  they  wanted. 
And  Ammann  and  Anker  were  German  spies — 
the  go-betweens. 

^'Acli!  For  the  Fatherland!"  exclaimed 
Anker,  as  he  extended  his  hand  for  the  bundle 
of  papers  Jimmy  held  out.  "I  do  this  for  the 
Fatherland!" 

**And  I  do  this  for  the  good  old  U.  S.  A.!" 
cried  Jimmy  in  ringing  tones  as  he  leaped  to  his 
feet  and  brought  the  butt  of  the  rifle  down  on 
the  liead  of  Anker.  At  the  same  time  Jimmy 
yelled:   **Let  him  have  it,  Koger!" 

And  Eoger  dealt  Ammann  a  smashing  blow, 
so  that  the  two  German  spies  slipped  from  their 
chairs  together  to  the  floor  of  the  cave.  They 
were  now  as  helpless  as  were  the  Bixtons. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THROUGH  THE  LINES 

"y^REAT  work!"  cried  Roger,  as  he  and 

i    -■-  Jimmy,  lighting  tlie  lamp  again,  made 

^*-^  sure  that  the  two  Germans,  as  well  as 
the  American  traitors,  were  unable  to  give 
further  trouble. 

"Yes,  luck  was  with  us  all  right,"  assented 
Jimmy.  "But,  oh  boy,  what  a  lot  this  amounts 
to!" 

"You  mean  finding  out  about  the  smoke  sig- 
nals plot?" 

"Yes,  and  all  that  it  takes  in.  You  wouldn't 
think  there  could  be  such  skunks  on  earth  as 
those  Bixtons,  would  you?" 

"I  should  say  not!"  agreed  Roger.  Though 
the  traitors  were  gagged  their  ears  were  open, 
and  if  they  had  a  spark  of  manhood  left  they 
must  have  squirmed. 

"You  can't  blame  the  Germans  so  much," 
194 


THROUGH  THE  LINES  195 

went  on  Jininiy.  ' '  They  were  working  for  their 
country,  not  against  it,  and  they  probably 
thought  what  they  did  was  all  right.  But  it  was 
up  to  us  to  put  'em  out  of  business." 

''And  I  guess  you  did  to  the  one  you  hit  all 
right,''  said  Roger.  "Looks  as  if  he  was  done 
for." 

''Couldn't  be  helped,"  was  Jimmy's  grim 
reply.  "It  was  the  spies  or  us.  How's  your 
man?" 

"Well,  I  hit  him  pretty  hard." 

This  was  evident.  Spurred  by  the  necessity 
for  acting  with  vigor  and  promptness,  the 
Khaki  Boys  had  struck  hard.  Both  the  Ger- 
mans were  unconscious,  and,  as  developed  later, 
one  was  so  badly  hurt  that  he  died. 

"Well,  what's  the  next  move?"  asked  Roger, 
as  they  sat  down  and  looked  at  one  another. 
Their  nerves  w^ere  a  bit  unsteady,  and  no  won- 
der. They  had  passed  through  a  strenuous  time 
in  the  last  fifteen  hours. 

"We've  either  got  to  take  these  fellows  some- 
where to  give  them  up  to  the  army  authorities, 
or  get  word  to  our  boys  that  the  scoundrels  are 
here,"  Jimmy  said.  "There  may  be  more  of 
the  signal  corps  men  involved  in  this  spy  work, 
and  it  ought  to  be  known.  But  I  don 't  see  now 
we  can  very  well  take  all  four  to  our  lines,  pro- 
vided we  can  find  the  lines.  This  fellow,"  and 
he  pointed  to  the  badly  injured  spy,  "can't 
walk." 


196    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

**Wliy  not  leave  these  two  here  in  the  cave, 
tied  as  tightly  as  we  can  manage?"  suggested 
Roger. 

"What  about  the  Bixtons?"  Jimmy  asked. 

* '  I  fancy  if  we  march  behind  them  with  their 
own  loaded  rifles  we  can  induce  them  to  go 
ahead  of  us  to  our  lines,"  remarked  Roger. 
•'Later  on  the  Germans  can  be  attended  to. 
They  won't  be  very  likely  to  run  away." 

'*Say,  I  guess  youVe  got  the  right  dope!" 
Jimmy  exclaimed.  "We'll  do  just  that.  But 
it's  late  now,  and  probably  as  dark  as  a  pocket 
outside.  We  can't  find  our  way  to  the  American 
lines  now.  Better  stay  here  in  the  cave  until 
morning." 

"That's  the  best  thing  to  do,"  decided  Roger. 
* '  If  any  more  spies  show  up  we  '11  be  ready  for 
'em,  though  I'm  sick  of  this  kind  of  fighting." 

"So'm  I,"  agreed  Jimmy. 

They  cut  into  strips  some  of  the  German 
civilians'  own  garments,  and  with  these  bound 
the  two  spies.  There  was  no  need  to  gag  them, 
since  all  danger  of  any  of  the  plotters  giving 
premature  warning  was  passed.  Indeed  there 
seemed  to  be  no  need  of  binding  the  badly 
wounded  Hun,  but  Jimmy  and  Roger  were  tak- 
ing no  chances. 

During  this  process,  by  the  light  of  the  lan- 
tern the  Khnkl  Boys  made  sure  of  the  identity 
of  the  Germans.  They  were  the  same  men  who 
had  been  seen  in  the  dugout,  and  there  was  no 


THROUGH  THE  LINES  197 

question  now  but  what  the  Bixtons  had  been 
the  two  soldiers  seen. 

Having  the  instincts  of  humanity,  Roger  and 
Jimmy  made  their  prisoners  as  comfortable  as 
the  circumstances  would  allow.  They  took  the 
gags  from  the  mouths  of  the  Bixton  brothers 
and  gave  them  water.  But  the  traitors  spoke 
no  word.  The  lesser  wounded  German  begged 
for  a  drink,  and  it  was  given  to  him.  The  other 
remained  in  a  stupor,  though  the  KhaM  Boys 
washed  the  wound  on  his  head  and  bound  it  up. 

Then  passed  the  long  night. 

In  the  morning,  not  very  much  refreshed,  as 
may  be  imagined,  by  the  weary,  hungry  hours 
spent  in  the  cave,  Jimmy  and  Eoger  ventured 
forth.  They  found  the  entrance  by  which  the 
Bixtons  and  the  spies  had  come  in,  and  from 
this  point,  which  was  on  a  hill,  they  were 
afforded  a  good  view  of  the  surrounding 
country. 

*' There's  smoke  over  there,"  said  Jimmy, 
pointing  to  what,  at  first,  seemed  to  be  a  fog. 

*'Yes,"  agreed  his  companion.  *' Maybe  it's 
smoke  of  battle  or  some  burning  village.  But 
it  means  there  have  been  men  there,  and  that's 
more  than  can  be  said  of  this  vicinity.  It's 
deserted." 

This  was  true  enough.  Though  there  were 
evidences  all  about  that  fighting  had  gone  on 
in  the  neighborhood,  there  was  no  sign  of  habi- 
tation near  the  cave,  and  no  inhabitants. 


198    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


''Let's  str .t  for  that  smoke,"  said  Jimmy. 
**It's  an  even  break  that  we  meet  our  lines  some- 
where over  that  way.  That's  the  logical  place 
for  them  to  be,  considering  the  fightinr;  of  yes- 
terday. Let's  hike  for  there,  and  drive  the 
Bixtons  ahead  of  ns." 

' '  I  'm  with  you ! ' '  cried  Eoger. 

There  was  no  necessity  of  waiting  for  break- 
fast— there  was  no  breakfast  to  be  had.  Jimmy 
and  Roger  donned  their  underwear,  which  had 
dried  by  this  time,  and  then,  again  putting  on 
the  Bixton's  uniforms,  the  two  lads  gave  their 
orders. 

* 'We're  going  to  let  you  wear  our  uniforms," 
said  Jimmy,  "because  they're  still  wet  and,  as 
it  was  your  doing  that  made  them  so,  it's  up  to 
you  to  stand  the  dampness." 

The  Bixtons  said  nothing.  There  was  noth- 
ing they  could  say.  Their  bonds  were  loosed 
and,  having  seen  that  the  Germans  were  still 
securely  tied,  Jimmy  and  Roger,  taking  their 
foes'  guns,  made  the  plotters  march  out  of  the 
cave. 

""WHiat  are  you  going  to  do  with  us?" 
growled  Aleck,  as  they  were  told  to  hike  down 
the  hill  in  the  direction  of  the  distant  smoke. 

"March  you  back  to  your  company  where  you 
belong.  They'll  know  what  to  do  with  you," 
said  Jimmy. 

"Look  here!"  begged  Wilbur.  "You've  got 
us  right,  boys.    We  ain't  going  to  crawl.    But 


THROUGH  THE  LINES  199 

do  you  know  what  it  means  if  we  have  to  go 
back?" 

"Yes,  I  know,"  said  Jimmy  soberly. 

''Then  turn  ns  loose.  Give  ns  a  chance,  any- 
how!" 

**A  chance  to  help  kill  some  more  of  our 
boys?"  cried  Roger.  ''I  guess  not!  You  had 
your  chance,  and  you  didn't  take  it.  You  pre- 
ferred to  sell  it  to  the  Huns.  Move  along!"  he 
cried. 

The  Bixtons  saw  that  pleadings  were  useless, 
but  later  on  they  made  one  more  attempt  to  free 
themselves.  As  they  drew  nearer  the  smoke  it 
was  seen  that  it  came  from  a  burning  village, 
and  a  little  later,  as  they  entered  the  outskirts 
of  the  desolate  and  smoking  town  they  saw  signs 
which  indicated  that  it  had  been  recently  occu- 
pied and  deserted  by  Germans. 

"They  must  be  in  retreat!"  cried  Jimmy. 
"Our  boys  can't  be  far  away." 

"You're  right!"  assented  Roger.  "If  we  go 
this  way,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  west,  "we 
ought  to  come  to  our  lines. ' ' 

' '  You  're  wrong ! ' '  said  Wilbur  quickly.  *  *  Our 
lines  lie  over  that  way.  I  ought  to  know,  for 
we  came  from  there  last  night.  Our  lines  are 
there,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  east. 

"You've  got  nerve — calling  'em  'our'  lines!" 
declared  Jimmy.  "You  don't  belong  to  the 
American  army  any  more." 

"Do  you  suppose  he  can  be  right?"  asked 


f?00    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Roger  in  a  low  voice  of  his  chnm.  **  Maybe  our 
lines  are  in  that  direction." 

**It  only  needs  their  telling  me  to  go  east  to 
make  me  go  west!"  exclaimed  Jimmy.  *' Nat- 
urally they  don't  want  to  be  taken  back  to  the 
company  they  dishonored.  They  want  to  escape 
to  the  Germans  they  served.  No,  sir!  We 
march  west!" 

And  west  they  went. 

It  was  abont  half  an  hour  after  this  that 
Roger  and  Jimmy,  driving  the  Bixtons  before 
them,  saw  a  gronp  of  American  soldiers  coming 
toward  them  over  a  shell-torn  field. 

"Home  again!"  cried  Jimmy. 

At  the  sight  of  Jinuny  and  Roger,  with  gnus 
held  in  readiness,  marching  two  other  Ameri- 
cans soldiers  ahead  of  them  the  party  of  Sam- 
mies, nnder  the  leadership  of  a  sergeant,  broke 
into  a  donble  quick,  and  soon  reached  the  Khaki 
Boys. 

"^Hiat's  all  this?"  demanded  the  sergeant. 
**Who  are  you  two  with  the  guns,  and  what  are 
these?  Deserters!"  he  asked,  pointing  to  the 
Bixtons. 

"Worse  than  deserters!  They're  traitors!" 
said  Jimmy.  "And  we  left  two  German  spies 
back  in  the  cave.  We  've  found  out  the  secret  of 
the  smoke  signals.  We'd  like  to  report  to  the 
officer  commanding  this  sector,  and  deliver  our 
prisoners." 

"Smoke   signals,   eh?"  exclaimed   Sergeant 


^ THROUGH  THE  LINES  201 

Walton,  who  had  charge  of  a  party  out  in 
search  of  possibl}^  forgotten  wounded  men. 
*' That's  queer.  A  squad  of  our  boys,  severa' 
squads,  in  fact,  are  out  looking  for  two  cf  the 
smoke  signal  machines  which  the  signal  corps 
reports  missing  since  last  night." 

All  eyes  were  turned  toward  the  Bixtons. 
But  they  maintained  their  policy  of  silence. 

"Come  on,  I'll  take  you  to  the  K.  0.,"  offered 
the  sergeant. 

This  was  done,  and  Roger  and  Jimmy  soon 
turned  over  their  prisoners  and  gave  an  ac- 
count of  the  whole  proceeding  from  the  timo 
they  were  knocked  senseless  until  they  attacked 
and  caught  the  German  spies.  Then,  after  the 
boys  had  accurately  described  the  location  of 
the  cave,  a  party  was  sent  there  to  bring  back 
the  two  Huns.  The  one  had  considerably  im- 
proved, being  but  stunned,  but  the  other  never 
regained  consciousness,  and  died  that  night. 

But  with  the  capture  of  the  Bixtons  and  the 
finding  of  the  papers  which  they  had  prepared 
to  give  the  Germans  in  exchange  for  gold,  the 
whole  secret  plot  was  exposed. 

The  two  scoundrels  had,  more  than  once,  sent 
up  the  smoke  signals  which  enabled  the  Boches 
to  locate  hidden  batteries  or  machine-gun  em- 
placements. And  to  work  their  latest  plot  the 
brothers  had  taken  into  the  woods  one  cf  the 
new  smoke  caldrons.  They  had  sold  their 
honor — and  had  brought  death  to  many  of  their 


202    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


companions  tlirongh  greed  for  gold.  It  was  dur- 
ing one  of  their  secret  conferences  with  the 
spies  that  the  Khaki  Boys  had  seen  the  Bixtons 
in  the  dngont.  And  only  for  their  capture  in 
i±he  cave  a  grave  disaster  might  have  befallen 
the  American  army  through  the  traitorous  con- 
duct of  the  Bixtons. 

For  they  had  planned,  by  sending  up  more 
smoke  signals  from  another  machine  which 
they  had  taken  to  the  woods,  to  disclose  the  lo- 
cation of  a  great  battery  of  new,  big  naval  guns, 
designed  to  smash  the  German  lines. 

The  successful  attack  of  Roger  and  Jimmy 
came  at  just  the  right  time.  The  plot  was 
foiled  and  the  plotters  caught.  And,  to  end 
an  unpleasant  subject,  it  might  be  said  here  that 
the  Bixtons  were  tried  by  court  martial  shortly 
afterward,  found  guilty,  and  executed,  as  was 
the  remaining  German  spy. 

"Well,  that's  over,"  said  Roger,  a  week  after 
their  strenuous  time  in  the  cave  and  on  the  day 
of  the  traitors'  execution.  "It  was  tough,  but 
it  had  to  be  done.  And  now  I  hope  they'll  let 
us  get  back  to  our  old  Five  Hundred  and 
Ninth." 

"I'm  vnth.  you  there!"  cried  Jimmy.  "I 
want  to  see  Bob  and  Iggy.  I  don't  suppose 
there's  any  news  of  Franz  yet." 

"Maybe  not,  but  I  hope  there  is,"  sighed 
Roger. 

In  due  time  they  were  sent  back  to  their  com- 


THROUGH   THE   LINES  203 

mand,  bearing  with  tliem  the  highest  praise 
from  the  army  authorities  for  their  success  in 
frustrating  the  smoke  plot.  And  something 
more  substantial  than  thanks  was  to  follow. 

*'Iggy!  Old  scout  Iggy!"  cried  Roger  and 
Jimmy,  as  they  greeted  the  Polish  lad  in  a  dug- 
out where  they  found  him,  not  far  from  the 
front  lines  now  occupied  by  the  Five  Hundred 
and  Ninth.  "How  are  vou,  Iggv,  and  where 's 
Bob?" 

Ignace  Pulinski  rubbed  his  eyes,  and  shook 
his  head. 

*'How  can  I  dream  w^hen  I  awake  am?"  he 
ppirl.    "Py  jolly,  it  seems  real  like!" 

''"^Yhat's  real  like,  you  old  chunk?"  de- 
manded Eoger. 

''Seeing  you  and  Jimmy  Blazes,"  was  the  an- 
swer. "  Of  a  dream  I  know  it  iss !  Yet  I  am  not 
asleep!    Of  a  queerness  it  is!" 

*'0f  course  it  isn't  a  dream!  We're  as  real 
as  yourself!"  laughed  Jimmy.  "Come  out  of 
the  gas  and  tell  us  where  Bob  is!" 

It  took  some  little  time  to  convince  Iggy  that 
it  was  not  all  a  dream,  but  when  he  had  shaken 
hands  with  them  and  they  had  clapped  him  most 
heartily  on  the  back,  he  exclaimed: 

*'  Oh,  of  such  gladness  am  I !  If  only  Bob  was 
here  now — and  Franz,  too,  then  would  be  the 
five  Brudders  ag'in!" 

"What!  isn't  Bob  here?"  cried  Jimmy. 

Iggy  shook  his  head. 


204    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 


"I  see  him  not  when  we  a  big  fight  had,"  he 
explained.  ''Dot  was  after  you  two  go  away. 
First  we  was  of  a  five,  den  it  was  of  a  fourness 
we  was.  You  go  and  it  was  of  a  twoness — Bob 
«,nd  me.  And  den  of  Bob,  he  go  away  some 
place  I  know  not.  I  am  of  a  oneness,  and  what 
you  call — er — ^by  myself ness " 

"You  mean  lonesomeness,"  suggested  Roger. 

**Him  it  is!"  cried  Iggy.  '*I  was  such  a 
lonesomeness,  but  now  I  am  of  a  gladness. 
Only  if  we  could  find  Bob  and  Franz!" 

*  *  It  would  be  great ! ' '  sighed  Jimmy.  "Well, 
well  keep  on  hoping." 

They  spent  the  rest  of  that  day  exchanging 
experiences — Roger,  Jimmy  and  Iggy.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  afternoon  the  three  Brothers 
were  ordered  to  the  front  lines.  It  was  ru- 
mored that  a  big  attack  impended,  thougii 
whether  it  would  be  made  by  the  Americans  or 
the  Germans  was  not  certain. 

And  shortly  after  Roger,  Jimmy,  and  Iggy 
had  taken  their  places  in  the  traverse,  with  No 
Man^s  Land  in  front  of  them,  the  whole  section 
of  the  line  near  them  was  thrown  into  a  panic 
by  the  discharge  of  a  rifle.  It  was  but  a  single 
thot,  and  so  quickly  was  a  whistle  command 
shrilled  forth  that  there  was  to  be  no  more  fir- 
ing, that  there  was  no  general  fusillade,  such  as 
often  follows  a  case  of  this  kind.  Even  the  Ger- 
mans did  not  fire  in  a  panic,  as  sometimes  hap- 
pened.    Perhaps  the  reason  for  that  was  be- 


THROUGH  THE  LINES  205 

cause  of  the  distance  of  the  two  lines  of  trenches 
at  this  point,  the  wire  entanglements  being  half 
a  mile  apart. 

''Wonder  what  that  means?"  asked  Roger, 
as  he  and  his  two  chums  got  down  off  the  firing 
step,  it  being  evident  that  there  was  to  be  no 
engagement  for  the  present. 

"A  couple  of  Germans  caught  out  in  No 
Man's  Land,"  was  the  answer  of  a  messenger 
who  came  through  the  trench  just  then. 
''Guess  they'll  wish  they'd  stayed  at  home." 

' '  Germans ! ' '  exclaimed  Jimmy.  ' '  They  truly 
had  nerve  to  come  out  in  the  open." 

He  and  his  chums  were  discussing  the  strange 
incident  when  a  messenger  harried  up, 

"Sergeants  Blaise  and  Barlow  and  Corporal 
Pulinski  ordered  to  report  to  the  captain, ' '  was 
the  crisp  message. 

In  surprise  Roger,  Jimmy,  and  Iggy  looked 
at  one  another. 

"Wonder  if  this  has  anything  to  do  with  the 
capture  of  the  two  Germans,"  said  Roger. 

"How  could  that  be?"  asked  Iggy. 

"Maybe  tliere's  some  connection  between 
them  and  the  two  spies  we  found  in  the  cave,'" 
suggested  Jimmy. 

"Maybe,"  agreed  Roger.  "Well,  we'll  go 
see  what's  wanted,  anyhow." 

The  messenger  escorted  them  to  a  dugout 
where  the  captain  of  their  company  was  sta- 
tioned.    He  smiled  as  he  saw  the  three,  and 


206    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

then  it  dawned  on  the  Khaki  Boys  that  the  mat- 
ter could  not  be  very  serious. 

*'I  sent  for  you  to  see  if  you  could  identify 
these  two  prisoners  caught  wearing  German 
"uniforms  between  our  lines  and  the  enemy's 
just  now,"  said  the  captain.  ''They  claim  to 
know  you. ' ' 

He  indicated  two  ragged,  dirty  youths  in  the 
characteristic  uniform  of  the  Kaiser's  soldiers. 
They  stood  with  their  backs  to  Roger,  Jimmy, 
and  Iggy. 

"Claim  to  knovr  us!"  exclaimed  Jinomy.  **I 
don't  see  how  that  can  be." 

**You  don't!"  cried  one  of  the  "Germans," 
as  he  wheeled  about. 

"Going  back  on  us,  are  youf"  yelled  the 
other. 

For  an  instant  Roger,  Jimmy,  and  Iggy  stood 
with  dropped  jaws  and  widely  opened  eyes. 
And  then,  simultaneously,  there  burst  from  the 
trio  the  shout: 

"Bob!    Franz!'' 

A  moment  later  the  five  reunited  Brothers 
were  clasped  in  each  others'  arms — yes,  they 
fairly  hugged  one  another,  straining  breast  to 
breast,  and  they  were  not  ashamed  of  the  tears 
in  their  eyes. 

"Do  you  recognize  the  prisoners'?"  asked  the 
captain,  wdth  a  laugh. 

"Do  we!  Say,  Captain,  how  soon  before 
we're  going  to  fight?"  cried  Jinmiy. 


THROUGH  THE  LINES 207 

*'0h,  I  gness  I  can  let  you  have  a  few  hours 
off  to  celebrate,"  came  the  answer.  '*Is  that 
what  you  wanted  me  to  say?" 

"That's  it,  sir!"  answered  Jimmy  with  a 
snappy  salute,  in  which  the  other  Khaki  Boys 
joined. 

"And  now  for  a  talk!"  cried  Bob,  as  they 
marched  back  to  a  dugout  behind  the  front 
lines. 

As  the  readers  are  well  acquainted  with  all 
that  happened  to  Roger  and  Jimmy,  details  of 
the  story  they  told  to  Bob  and  Franz  need  not 
be  gone  into.  Similarly,  they  are  acquainted 
with  what  happened  to  Franz  and  Bob  up  to 
the  point  when  they,  with  their  comrades  in  the 
liberation  plot,  escaped  from  the  German  prison 
camp,  wearing  Hun  uniforms. 

"And  we  have  had  one  whale  of  a  time  since 
then!"  said  Bob,  in  telling  the  story  of  their 
journey  back  to  the  American  lines. 

He  and  Franz  had  suffered  unimaginable 
hardships.  They  separated  from  the  others,  as 
it  seemed  safest  not  to  travel  in  a  large  party. 
What  happened  to  their  fellow  prisoners  Bob 
and  Franz  did  not  hear  until  long  afterward. 
Some  reached  safety,  but  many  were  recaptured 
or  were  killed. 

Bob  and  Franz  traveled  mostly  at  night,  and 
the  knowledge  Schnitzel  had  of  German  saved 
them  more  than  once.  Eventually,  when  almost 
ready  to  give  up,  they  reached  a  place  where 


208    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

the  509th  and  brigaded  regiments  opposed  a 
strong  German  division. 

And  then,  more  by  good  luck  than  anything 
else,  Bob  and  Franz,  still  wearing  the  ragged 
^rerman  nnif orms,  found  a  gap  in  the  Hnn  lines 
and  got  through  it  to  No  Man's  Land.  Then 
they  headed  for  the  American  trenches. 

As  they  were  in  uniform,  it  was  seen  at  once 
that  they  were  not  spies,  though  one  over-zeal- 
ous Sammie  fired  on  them.  At  first  the  Ameri- 
cans thought  they  were  about  to  receive  two 
German  deserters,  as  frequently  happened. 
But  once  in  custody  Bob  and  Franz  disclosed 
their  identity,  and,  learning  that  Roger,  Jimmy, 
and  Iggy  were  in  the  neighborhood,  asked  that 
they  be  sent  for. 

The  rest  has  already  been  told. 

** Every  man  ready!" 

"Every  man  ready,  sir!" 

This  was  the  report  that  went  up  and  down 
the  trenches.  The  five  Brothers,  reunited  after 
such  stirring  experiences,  heard  it  as  they  stood 
together  ready  to  leap  up  on  the  firing  step  and 
ro  over  the  top. 

,  Behind  them  big  cannon  waited  but  a  signal 
to  the  gunners  to  belch  forth  flame  and  destruc- 
tion.   Every  one  was  on  the  alert. 

It  was  a  day  following  a  tremendous  battle, 
when  the  German  lines  had  been  smashed,  torn 
apart  and  thrown  into  confusion,  and  when  the 


THROUGH  THE  LINES  209 


fleeing  Huns,  driven  from  their  stronghold  by 
the  masterful  work  of  Foch  and  Pershing  with 
the  other  Allied  commanders,  were  endeavoring 
to  save  themselves  from  disaster. 

**A  little  bit  more  of  this,  and  we'll  finish  the 
job,"  remarked  Jimmy,  as  he  looked  at  his 
wrist  watch. 

* ' What  time  is  it ?' '  asked  Bob. 

* '  Nearly  eleven.    Why  ? ' ' 

**Well,  I  heard  a  rumor  that  the  Germans 
had  asked  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  to  be- 
gin about  noon,  in  order  to  get  ready  to  sign 
an  armistice." 

*' Don't  you  believe  it!"  exclaimed  Franz. 
"The  Huns  won't  know  they're  beaten  until  we 
grind  their  faces  dowm  in  the  mud!  Listen  to 
that!    Talk  about  ceasing  hostilities!" 

It  was  the  sound  of  heavy  artillery  on  the 
American  side,  and  the  sound  came  nearer,  like 
rolling  thunder  over  the  distant  hills. 

** Guess  we're  going  in  all  right,"  said  Jim- 
my, and  there  was  a  grim  look  on  his  face. 
"Fellows,  we've  had  some  hard  fighting  these 
last  few  days.    A  little  bit  more  of  it,  and  we 

may  finish  up.    But Oh,  well,  what's  the 

use  !;alking?  If  we  live  through  it,  we  live — 
that's  all.    I  wonder -" 

His  words  were  smothered  in  a  terrific  burst 
of  fire  from  the  guns  back  of  them. 

"Laying  down  a  barrage!"  shrilled  Bob  in 


210    THE  KHAKI  BOYS  FIGHTING  TO  WIN 

Roger's  ear.  ''Here's  where  we  go  over  the 
top!" 

Tensely  they  stood  waiting  for  the  order.  It 
never  came. 

Suddenly,  as  if  by  magic,  the  terrific  noise 
<?eased.  Where  a  moment  before  there  had 
been  a  crashing  as  if  of  whole  worlds  smash- 
ing into  collision  in  vast  space,  now  there  was  a 
quietness  that  was  startling. 

"Cease  firing!" 

The  order  came  just  as  the  hands  on  Jim- 
my's watch  pointed  to  eleven  o'clock. 

What  did  it  mean  ?  And  then,  faintly  at  first, 
but  gathering  momentum  lik«  a  mighty  wind, 
the  word  went  up  and  down  the  trenches. 

^'The  armistice  is  signed!" 

**That  means  the  war  is  practically  over," 
said  Bob. 

*  *  Maybe  not, ' '  returned  Jimmy.  ' '  There  may 
still  be  much  for  us  to  do." 

And  that  he  was  right  will  be  learned  by  read- 
ing the  next  volume  of  this  series,  to  be  called, 
**The  Khaki  Boys  Along  the  Ehine ;  or,  Winning 
the  Honors  of  War." 

THE   EHD 


THE  KHAKI  BOYS  SERIES 


By  CAPT.   GORDON   BATES 

l2mo.    Cloth.    Illustrated.    Jacket  in  full  color. 
Price  per  volume,  60  cents,  postpaid. 


All  who  love  the  experiences  and  adven- 
tures of  our  American  boys,  fighting  for  the 
freedom  of  democracy  in  the  world,  will  be 
delighted  with  these  vivid  and  true-to-life 
stories  of  the  camp  and  field  in  the  great 
zvar. 


THE  KHAKI  BOYS  AT  CAMP  STERLING 

or  Training  for  the  Big  Fight  in  France 
Two  zealous  young  patriots  volunteer  and 
begin  their  military  training.  On  the  train 
going  to  camp  they  meet  two  rookies  with 
whom  they  become  chums.  Together  they 
get  into  a  baffling  camp  mystery  that  de- 
veJops  into  an  extraordinary  spy-piot.  They  defeat  the  ene- 
iHJes  of  their  country  and  incidentally  help  one  another  to 
promotion  both  in  friendship  and  service. 

THE  KHAKI  BOYS  ON  THE  WAY 

or  Doing  Their  Bit  on  Sea  and  Land. 

Our  soldier  boys  having  completed  their  training  at  Camp  Ster- 
Img  are  transferred  to  a  Southern  cantonment  from  which  they 
are  finally  sent  aboard  a  troop-ship  for  France.  On  the  trip 
their  ship  is  sunk  by  a  U-boat  and  their  adventures  are 
realistic  descriptions  of  the  tragedies  of  the  sea. 

THE  KHAKI  BOYS  AT  THE  FRONT 

or  Shoulder  to  Shoulder  in  the  Trenches 

The  Khaki  Boys  reach  France,  and,  after  some  intensive  train- 
ing in  sound  of  the  battle  front,  are  sent  into  the  trenches.  In 
the  raids  across  No-Man's  land,  they  have  numerous  tragic  ad- 
yentures  that  show  what  great  work  is  being  performed  by  our 
soldiers.    It  shows  what  makes  heroes. 

Send  For  Our  Free  Illustrated  Catalogue. 


CUPFLES  &  LEON  COMPANY,  Publishers 


New  York 


THE    BASEBALL    JOE    SERIES 

By    LESTER    GHADWICK 

J2mo,    Illustrated.    Price  per  volume,  80  cents,  postpaid. 

BASS:S^LL  JOE  OF  THE  SILVER  STASIS 
or  The  Rivals  of  Riverside 
Joe  is  an  everyday  country  boy  who  loves 


.^FB^«iSAJl''0^ 


or  Tw*  -  , 

">«  I  5\\iRSv,S^"**       to  play  baseball  and  particularly  to  pitch. 

BASEBJS4LL  JOE    OfJ  THE  SCHOOL  NSNE 

or  Pitching  for  the  Blue  Banner 
Joe's  great  ambition  was  to  go  to  boarding 
school  and  play  on  the  school  team. 

BASEBALL  JOE  AT  YALE 

or  Pitching  for  the  College  Championship 

Joe  goes  to  Yale  University.    In  his  second  year  he  becomes  a 
varsity  pitcher  and  pitches  in  several  big  games. 

BASEBALL  JOE  IN  THE  CENTRAL  LEAGUE 

or  Making  Good  as  a  Professional  Pitcher 

In   this  volume   the  scene  of  action  is  shifted  from  Yal« 
college  to  a  baseball  league  of  our  central  states. 

BASEe.;LL  JOE  l^3  7ME  BIG  LEAGUE 

or  A  Young  Pitcher's  Hardest  Struggles 

From  the   Central   League  Joe  is  drafted  into  the  St.  Louis 
Nationals.     A  coj    ing  baseball  story  all  fans  will  enjoy. 

BASEBALL  JOE  OU  THE  GSAI^TS 

or  Making  Good  as  a  Tivirlcr  in  the  Metropolis 

How  Joe  was  traded  to  the  Giants  and  became  their  mainstay 
in  the  box  makes  an  interesting  baseball  story. 

BASEBALL  JOE  IN  THE  WORLD  SERIES 

or  Pitching  for   the   Champioiiship 

The  rivalry  was  of  course  of  the  keenest,  and  what  Joe  did  to 
•win  the  series  is  told  in  a  manner  to  thrill  the  most  jaded  reader. 

BASEBALL  JOE  AROUND  THE  WORLD 

or  Pitching  on  a  Grand  Tour 
The  Giants  and  the  AU-Americans  tour  the  world,  playing  in 
'many  foreign  countries. 

Send  For  Our  Free  Illustrated  Caialognc. 


CUPPLES  &  LEON  COMPANY,  Pubiishers 


New  York 


